All Hell Breaks Loose
by belladonna78
Summary: Sequel to Highway To Hell. Beth O'Malley was taken in by John Winchester following the death of her hunter father. This story follows Dean & Sam Winchester and Beth's story as they battle demons and other supernatural creatures in the aftermath of recent tragic events. Dean/OC-Beth. Rated M for occasional smut. See the first chapter for more info. Please read & review.
1. Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTES – ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE**

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This is the sequel to my previous story "Highway to Hell". If you haven't read that yet, I suggest you start there because otherwise you're jumping into a story already in progress, and it will give you all the background you need to know about who Beth is and her story. (Plus, it's like a couple of days – at least depending on how fast you read – worth of fun stories!)

This story picks up at the start of Season 2 – _Supernatural_. John, Sam, Dean and Beth have just been smashed in an accident caused by a demon, and they're being air lifted to the hospital, they're all very injured, some more than others.

This is the story of Beth O'Malley, daughter of a minister, also a hunter who was friends with John Winchester. Although she was unaware of his 'other job', as a teenager, Beth found out the hard way about the things that are out there in the dark when she was possessed by a demon, an old foe of her father's, and forced to kill him by her own hand.

John rescued her, exorcised the demon, and took her in, teaching her the ways of hunting. After a while she and Dean developed a relationship, eventually gaining the blessing of John when she was nearly killed during a hunt. They fight together now, alongside their brother Sam, and the whole world has just been turned upside-down for them – what will happen next?!

This is Supernatural as I think it should be written. :) In general, I follow the series, writing Beth into it as we go – that's right, I don't change the plots all that much, that's not what this is about. Some become flashbacks, some change a bit to fit with the storyline I am creating around Beth; all in all I hope you enjoy the way I write it, and come back for more!

Please post a review if you're enjoying the writing – I love to get feedback, especially if it's nice! If you have songs you'd like to suggest for any particular episodes, do so, I love to add to my playlists :) Likewise if you have any ideas around storyline, episodes etc. that I might miss (I skip the ones where Beth wouldn't feature too much because I mainly write from her point of view – occasionally Dean's) feel free to suggest them. Let me know what you like about the story! Everyone's encouragement just inspires me to keep going with it :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the storyline that follows the show itself. Any changes to storyline and addition of characters (ie. Beth) are all mine :)


	2. In My Time Of Dying

_**A/N** _Hello to all the new followers & reviewers - Hope you all made it over here safely from the last story! :D If you haven't read the last story and this is the first you've heard of Beth, I'd recommend checking out _Highway To Hell _otherwise you're just going to be lost!

* * *

_No time for goodbye he said__  
__As he faded away__  
__Don't put your life in someone's hands__  
__They're bound to steal it away__  
__Don't hide your mistakes__  
__'Cause they'll find you, burn you__  
__Then he said__If you want to get out alive__  
__Whoa-oh, run for your life__  
__If you want to get out alive__  
__Whoa-oh, run for your life_

* * *

**IN MY TIME OF DYING**

_- Continued from last chapter of Highway to Hell -_

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

I was floating in a big pool of water, warm and comforting, supporting me as I slipped away. There was no pain, no hurt, no anger – only the present, and it was perfect. Then came the noise, the voices, the people coming and going, and I came back into myself, hearing them talk.

"Beth!" I heard Sam yelling at me from a distance. "Beth stay awake! Wake up!"

Fading again, the warmth coming and surrounding me.

A voice pulling me back from the warm light; "Significant passenger side intrusion. Unresponsive. BP is 180 over 60, heartrate 95, 95."

"Tell me if they're ok!" Sam was yelling, there was the sound of a helicopter whirring and the chaotic frenzy of people all around me, talking, working.

Again the light washed over me and I faded, forgetting who I am, what I was doing, why I was where I was... nothing mattered, I was home.

There was something I was forgetting, something I was here for.

Lights flashed, one after the other overhead, again I found myself lulled back from the quiet.

"We're losing her..." Someone said. "Get her up to op 2."

"Beth, Beth, can you hear me?" Sam's voice echoed in my head. "Beth, stay with me!"

Gasping I tried to sit up, looking around. People worked frantically around me, just shadows with voices as there was a large light in my face and I couldn't see beyond it. I blinked and raised my hand to shield my eyes, looking around.

I was in an operating room. Doctors and nurses surrounded me and I couldn't move, I couldn't get up. Something hovered over my body, white and misty. Suddenly my body went into shock and started to flat line, sending the medical team into a frenzy – they started calling out stats and charging the electrical panels to jump-start my heart. I found myself propelled across the room and stood staring at what was my body, in cardiac arrest, lying on an operating table. _Oh this can't be good. _I'd read about out of body experiences before, but I never thought I'd be having one. I swallowed and looked around me.

Strangely there was a doctor and nurse standing behind the others but they weren't doing anything, I could see them if I turned my head – no one else seemed to notice them as they watched everything going on in the room. I felt dizzy, faint, but I could just make them out, and the even stranger conversation they were having.

"She is one of the faithful, she has been granted divine dispensation for healing." The doctor said to the nurse, turning his dark eyes to her.

"What about the boy?" The nurse said. I frowned. What boy?

"It's out of my hands. Only one intervention has been granted," replied the doctor.

The nurse looked at me, curiously devoid of emotion, as if weighing up a decision.

"If you want my opinion, let the girl go. The boy is more important." The doctor said.

The nurse shook her head, staring at me, a slight frown started to crease her brow.

"No... you're wrong. It has to be the girl. He might still make it. But he won't want to if she dies," said the nurse. I felt a searing pain sizzle through my body as they jump-started my heart, but the terrifying sound of a flat line still played on the monitors. The doctors and nurses around me were getting more and more frantic.

"He is stronger than her," said the doctor.

"Only in body," came the reply. "It would break him."

The doctor sighed at his colleague and stepped forward to look at my body.

The nurse saw me and tilted her head toward me. She walked over and stood a few feet away, just looking, unreadable. "Can you see me?" I asked, tentatively.

"Yes." She answered. "It's going to be all right Beth. I have not abandoned you."

"Who are you?" I asked, frowning.

She looked at me curious. "Don't you remember?" I shook my head.

"I am the one who has walked beside you from the day you were born." I gaped, shaking my head.

"You're an angel?" I asked. She nodded, then turned back to the doctor standing beside me.

"Raphael is going to heal you now Beth, you won't remember a thing, but know this - I am always with you." She stepped back and nodded at the doctor.

"So be it then." He said, and without any warning he reached through the people around me, touching my forehead, and a white light flowed over me, pulling me under.

In the distance I heard someone cry out. "We have a pulse!" And then I fell into the water again, sinking into the comforting warmth.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

"Dean!" Beth's voice echoed in my head and I sat up, looking around the room. My jaw was stiff and there was a dull throb in my head, but all in all I felt pretty good given how I'd felt a few hours ago when that yellow-eyed demon had been trying to kill us.

I frowned and looked around, sliding off the bed. The floor felt cold beneath my bare feet, but at least I was feeling something. I grimaced at the clothes I had on, who wears this stuff anyway? Hospital scrubs! Still, they were clothes at least.

Where was everyone? I stepped out into the hallway, looking around. "Beth?!" I called out, expecting to see her come around the corner at any moment. "Sammy?! Dad?" The hospital was strangely quiet, no one walking around, in fact, I didn't see anyone. "Anybody?" I called out, hoping someone would respond at least.

I wandered down the hall and then followed the stairs to front reception. There was a pretty blonde doing some filing at the desk.

"Excuse me. Hi. I, uh, I think I was in a car accident with my family. I just just to find them." I said to her. I took a deep breath, wondering if they were ok, had they survived the crash? Where were they? She ignored me, as if she hadn't even heard me.

"Hello?" I asked, shocked that she wasn't responding. What was she blind too? I snapped my fingers in front of face, no response. Well this was weird. I backed up, looking around, what was going on?

Retracing my steps I went looking for the others, they had to be here, we'd all been in the same car, the same accident. I'd find them, and hopefully they would have some idea on what was going on.

No one looked at me as I walked down the corridor, that too was strange considering the get-up I was walking around in, and the great big gash I'd seen on my forehead, reflected in a glass doorway. I strode down the hall I'd started in, and hurried back to my room, I needed to get clothes, shoes... I stopped dead.

There, on the bed, was … me. And it looked to me like I was well on the road to dying. I was a mess. Tubes came out my mouth, drips attached to my arms. I wasn't moving, comatose, and I looked on death's door. I had the unsettling realisation that if I was floating around outside my body, it probably meant that I was.

Sam came into the room, god it was good to see him.

"Sammy! You look good. Considering." I said to his back, he was standing next to my lifeless body, staring down.

"Oh no." Sam whispered, his face contorting as he battled his emotions.

"Man, tell me you can hear me." I said to him, trying to do a whole _Ghost _thing on him. I walked to the end of the bed, there was no response.

"How's Dad? Is he ok?" I asked, idly wondering what the point of this was, if nothing more than just to clear my racing head. "Come on, you're the psychic. Give me some ghost whispering or something!"

A doctor entered the room, looking at Sam. "Your father's awake. You can go see him if you like." He said.

"Thank god!" I said, to nobody in particular.

"Doc, what about my brother?" Sam asked, still looking at me.

"Well, he sustained serious injury: blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma I'm worried about. There's early signs of cerebral edema." The doctor responded, looking over at my body.

"Well, what can we do?" Sam asked, taking a deep breath.

"Well, we won't know his full condition until he wakes up." The doctor said, then added: "If he wakes up."

"If?" Sam asked, looking shocked.

"I have to be honest..." The doctor started.

"Oh screw you Doc, I'm waking up!" I said loudly, _come on Sammy, surely you can hear me! "_Come on, Sam. Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. I'll be fine. Sam?_" _It was like talking to a brick wall.

"...most people with this degree of injury wouldn't have survived this long. He's fighting very hard. But you need to have realistic expectations..." the doctor was saying, "...for both of them."

Both of them? What did he mean _both of them? _

I frowned, looking around. "Sam, where's Beth?" I swallowed, she should be here, why wouldn't she be here with me? "Sam... _where's Beth?" _

Sam nodded and walked out of the room. I followed him, feeling the tell tale signs of panic rising in my chest. I looked around the rooms, but I couldn't see her anywhere, was she in the chapel? She was always in that damn chapel, of course that's where she'd be, praying to some god forsaken angel that never bothered to lift a finger to help either of us. Fat lot of good having a guardian angel did for us, I would hate to think what our lives would be like without the damn thing – that's if I believed it existed in the first place. Of course our lives were a good testament to why I didn't believe.

Dad was sitting up when Sam entered the room, I trailed behind, deep in thought. Dad pulled out a card, one-handed from his wallet. His other arm was in a sling, but other than that, he looked ok.

"Here. Give them my insurance." He said to Sam, who glanced at the card and smiled.

"Elroy McGillicutty?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"And his three loving kids." Dad said with a smirk. "So, what did the doctor say about Beth?"

Sam sighed. "She's still in surgery, they say she went into shock from the head trauma, maybe a blood clot or an aneurysm, they've been in there for hours Dad."

Surgery? What? I felt my heart start to beat a little faster and there was that familiar feeling of panic growing.

"And Dean?" Dad asked.

"Nothing. Look. If the doctors won't do anything, then we'll have to, that's all. I'll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him." Sam frowned when he said that, and I gaped, had he heard me before? Was I getting through to him?

Dad looked at Sam, nodding. "We'll look for someone."

"Yeah." Sam nodded, looking determined.

"But Sam, I don't know if we're gonna find anyone." Dad said quietly.

"Why not? I found that faith healer before." Sam said. I was nodding at them, arms crossed. There was something in Dad's eyes, something that I didn't like. I leaned back against the wall to see this conversation play out.

"Right, that was, that was one in a million." Dad said.

"So what? Do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?" Sam asked, angry.

"No, I said we'd look. All right? I'll check under every stone." He paused, looking at Sam. "Where's the colt?"

And there it was... same old Dad, same old vendetta. Two of his kids lying on death's door and he was obsessed with hunting the very demon that put us where we were.

"Your children are dying... and you're worried about the colt?" Sam asked steely, his eyes narrowing.

"We're hunting this demon, and maybe it's hunting us too. That gun may be our only card." Dad said, his voice getting loud and dictatorial, like usual.

"It's in the trunk. They dragged the car to a yard off of I-83." Sam said.

"All right. You've gotta clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what's inside." John ordered.

"I already called Bobby. He's like an hour out, he's going to tow the Impala back to his place." Sam answered, surly.

"All right. You go meet up with Bobby. You get the colt, and you bring it back to me. And you watch out for hospital security." Dad instructed and I sighed.

"I think I've got it covered," Sam smirked at him, standing up to leave. Dad picked up a piece of paper off the table and held it out. Sam took it and started to read the list, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Hey." Dad said to Sam as the latter started to leave. "Here. I made a list of things I need, have Bobby pick them up for me."

Sam read the list that was in front of him. "Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What's this stuff for?"

"Protection." Dad said. I smirked, _yeah right. _

Sam started to move out the door again, then paused with a sigh. "Hey, Dad? You know, the demon, he said he had plans for me, and children like me. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?"

Dad looked at him a while before answering: "No, I don't."

Sam brushed past me and I stared at John for a few heartbeats.

"Well... you sure know something." I said out loud to him.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

Sam was sitting next to me when I came out of the anaesthesia, I opened my eyes and took in his battered face, cut and bruised with a grimace.

"Oh Sammy... your face...are you ok?" I asked, reaching out to him.

Sam smiled, eyes full of unshed tears. "I should be asking you that, you gave us a real scare Beth."

I smiled, it seemed to run in the family.

"What happened?" I asked.

"You hit your head, in the crash, hard. The doctors thought you were going to bleed out, you had haemorrhaging in the brain, they nearly lost you several times in surgery... but..." His voice trailed off.

"But?" I questioned, confused.

"Then suddenly you made a miraculous recovery, almost immediately the bleeding stopped. The doctors can't explain it, it's a miracle." I frowned, miracles weren't exactly in abundant supply around this family.

I touched my head experimentally, it barely hurt at all.

"I feel fine?" I said, sitting up. "Not even a sore muscle."

Sam frowned, taking that in. I should be in agony with all the surgery I'd just had, yet nothing hurt.

"Well maybe all that praying you do paid off, eh?" Sam asked and I laughed. Yeah, maybe.

I looked down at my hands, scared to ask the question, but I had to.

"How's Dean? Is he...?" My eyes showed just how scared I was to lose him, I closed them, not wanting to hear if it were the worst.

"He's alive." Sam said, and I swallowed, fighting back tears. "But he's not good Beth, he has a lot of internal injuries, and what might be a cerebral edema." I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them, resting my chin on my knees.

Sam watched me, cautious and worried. I pulled it all inside, all the fear and uncertainty. I shoved it right down into the deepest recess of my mind. I had to focus.

"Well, we saved him once. We can do it again, right?" I asked, looking at Sam, who was nodding.

Deep down though I didn't feel so confident. We'd scoured for days and days looking for anything to help Dean when he'd been left with a chronic heart injury. There had been only one lead worth following, and it was now gone – we'd hunted it when it turned out to be someone wielding the power of a reaper for their own uses.

I pushed the doubts out of my head as best I could, they wouldn't get us anywhere.

"And Dad?" I asked, the last I'd seen him he had been bleeding and unconscious.

"He's fine, a sprained shoulder, he's been worried about you." Sam answered and I smiled.

"Come on," I said, "Let's see if these legs still work, I could use the walk, I'd like to see Dad." And then I wanted to see Dean. I swallowed hard, and kept my emotions in check, Sam looked like he was struggling enough for the pair of us. I had to be the strong one now, I was the oldest, I couldn't fall apart.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

Dad was in my room, sitting in a chair staring at me as I lay dying. I don't know why I was bothering, but I ranted at him just the same. I suppose it felt good to yell at him, especially knowing that he couldn't yell back.

"Come on Dad. You've gotta help me. You can't just give up. I mean, you haven't called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything?" I paced around the room, anger flaring behind my eyes. I leaned against the wall, lost in my own thoughts.

"I've done everything you've ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had. And you're just going to sit there and watch me die? I mean, what the hell kind of father are you?!" I said it right to his face. He didn't hear.

There was a sound, I paused, listening.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, stepping out into the hallway. A spirit whooshed past me and I jumped. OK, I wasn't expecting that. I looked at Dad, he wasn't even looking in our direction.

"I take it you didn't see that." I said with a smirk and decided to follow it.

I took off in the direction the spirit had gone. It went into a hallway around the corner and I hurried after it. As I rounded the corner, the spirit rushed past me again, doubling back in the opposite direction now. It rounded another corner and I turned and followed. There in the middle of the hallway was a woman, lying on the floor, files scattered all over the place as she lay choking.

"Help! Help!"The woman said, seizing up on the floor.

"Hey! I need some help in here!" I yelled, but no one could hear me.

"I can't... breathe!" The woman gasped, panting loudly, trying desperately to breathe. I watched, helpless, as she went silent, the light fading from her eyes.

I looked around, a little panicked.. I was in a right royal mess, and now there was something in the hospital hunting people. Terrific!

* * *

**Dean's POV**

They were waiting, for what I had no idea, a miracle maybe. But miracles seemed to be in short supply.

"Beth," I said, watching her face as she sat next Dad. "Come on Beth... you've read my mind enough in the past... sort of... surely you can hear me?" I sighed, and shook my head. She couldn't, I don't even know why I was bothering.

"What I wouldn't give to be in that little bar in New Mexico drinking tequila with you right now..." I said to her, she looked right through me, I sighed.

Sam walked in to the room carrying one of the duffel bags from the car. As soon as he entered I was on his back.

"Sammy! Tell me you can friggin' hear me, man, there's something in the hospital. Now, you've got to bring me back and we've got to hunt this thing!"

"You're quiet." Dad said to Sam, who was looking like he was about to explode about something.

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Sam said, his voice was deadly serious and angry as he threw the bag at the foot of Dad's bed. Beth looked up in alarm.

"What are you talking about?" Dad asked, but he was playing dumb, I could see it in his eyes.

"That stuff from Bobby, you don't use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one." Dad blinked at him, and Beth moved to stand at the foot of the bed, she looked shocked.

"You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you?" She asked.

Sam said, furious. "Yeah, and having some stupid macho showdown?!"

"I have a plan, Sam." Dad said to him calmly.

"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying, and you have a plan!" Sam shouted at him. He threw his hands up in the air and shook his head. "You know what, you care more about killing this demon than you do about saving your own son!"

"No, no, no, guys, don't do this." I said, walking over them. Beth was biting her lip and I glanced at her.

"Do not tell me how I feel!" Dad said, raising his voice. "I am doing this for him, Sam."

"How? How is revenge going to help them? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself, it's the same selfish obsession!" Sam yelled back at him.

"Stop it..." Beth whispered, her eyes wide with tears. "Why do you always do this?"

"Come on guys, don't do this," I groaned at them, walking over to place my hand at Beth's lower back, like I always did when they argued. But this time she couldn't feel it, she was separated from me, and I didn't like it one bit. Dad and Sam ignored her and just kept right on arguing.

"You know it's funny, I thought it was your obsession too! This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend. You _begged _me to be a part of this hunt. Now if you'd killed that damn thing when you have the chance, none of this would have happened!" Dad's eyes were angry.

"It was possessing you Dad, I would have killed you too!" Sam countered, stalking around the side of the bed.

"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now." Dad threw at him.

Beth flinched at their argument. I looked between them.

"Shut up, both of you!" I said loudly, not that they could hear.

"Go to hell." Sam said at Dad, reeling.

"I should have never taken you along in the first place. I knew it was a mistake, I knew I was wrong..." Dad was going for the kill, I reacted, without thinking.

"I said SHUT UP!" I yelled, smacked out at a glass of water. It flew off the table, crashing to the floor. Beth jumped and stared at the smashed glass, then looked around the room, frowning. Sam and Dad looked at each other, confused. I was stunned.

"Dude, I full on Swayze'd that mother." I said, and then I fell to the floor in pain.

Beth went to the door as nurses and doctors started running by in the hallway.

"Some thing's going on out there," Dad said to Sam, jerking his head in the direction of the raucous.

"No, no no no..." Beth said suddenly, leaving the room at a run. I chased her, and realised where she was going. She was going to me. Monitors were beeping and a doctor and some nurses were surrounding my body, trying to resuscitate me. I was dying.

"All clear," the doctor said, and everyone stepped back for the paddles to connect to me and shock my heart.

"Dean! Oh god." Beth said, staring in horror, looking at me in panic. Sam had reached her and had his arms around her, restraining her from going into the room.

"No..." Sam whispered, looking distraught.

"Still no pulse," the nurse said.

"Okay, let's go again, 360," the doctor said, charging the paddles again.

Suddenly there was a ghostly figure hovering over my body, looking down. I ran for it.

"You get the hell away from me!" I cried out, getting into it's face. "I said get back!" When it didn't move it I grabbed at it, I had no other weapon other than my own hands. Then I felt myself being propelled back across the room. The monitors slowed down, and a steady beat resumed.

"We have a pulse. We're back into sinus rhythm," one of the nurses reported.

Beth and Sam stared at me, their faces awash with sorrow as they watched my body on the bed.

I hovered by their side, not knowing what to do. But I knew I had to reassure them some way.

"Don't worry, Beth. I'm not going anywhere. I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it." I was certain, I knew there'd be a way. Sam looked in my direction, almost as if he heard me.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

We were back in John's room, he was looking at Sam like he was crazy.

"What do you mean, you felt something?" John asked, looked at Sam who was pacing the room.

"I mean it felt like, like Dean. Like he was there, just out of eye shot or something. I don't know if it's my psychic thing or what, it... but do you think it's even possible?" Sam looked from John to me. "Do you think his spirit could be around."

I swallowed and nodded. "Sure, any thing's possible Sam." I said, looking at John who had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Well, there's one way to find out." Sam said, heading for the door.

"Where are you gong?" John asked him.

"I gotta pick something up, I'll be back." Sam said quietly, looking a little defeated.

"Wait, Sam." John said, sitting up. "I promise I won't hunt this demon. Not until we know Dean's ok."

Sam nodded and left.

John turned to me, relief and concern in his eyes.

"Now, tell me how it is that you're alive and walking?" He asked. I shook my head, I didn't know.

"The doctors say it's a miracle, I don't know Dad... I mean, you didn't do anything?" He shook his head at me sadly.

"Hmm." I said, thinking. "Well I don't know. They checked me over, I'm fine, nothing wrong with me. What do you think happened?" I asked him.

"I don't know Bethie, I don't know. But it sure is good to see you up and about." He smiled. I returned the smile and held his hand.

"So, what's this about hunting the demon Dad? You're in no shape to go after it. We're not doing anything except focusing on Dean now." I said, staring at him.

He nodded at me, a sadness flashing behind those brown eyes.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

I watched Beth and Dad having their little chick-flick moment, and I smiled. She'd be ok, I knew she would be. She was stronger than she thought, so much stronger than me.

Turning with a sigh, I started to wander the hallways, wondering where it was that Sam had gone to, I suppose I'd find out once he got back.

There was a girl yelling. I heard it clear as day.

"Can't you see me? Why won't you look at me?" She yelled, frantically walked around the people in the hospital.

"Now what?" I muttered, and headed in the direction it was coming from.

"Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!" The girl was dark haired, she looked a lot like Beth actually, which caught my attention. Her hair was shorter, straighter, but she had similar brown eyes. She looked around frantically as she descended the stairs she was on.

"Can you see me?" I called out to her. She spun around.

"Yeah." She whispered.

"All right, just, uh... calm down. What's your name?" I asked, coming up the steps toward her.

"Tessa." She said.

"OK, good, Tessa. I'm Dean." I said, nodding.

"What's happening to me? Am – am I dead?" She asked, her eyes scared.

"That sort of depends." I said, looking at her.

A few moments later we were standing outside a room. Inside was Tessa's body hooked up to tubes and machines – just like mine. There was a woman sitting by the bed, holding Tessa's hand.

"I don't understand. I just came in for an appendectomy." Tessa said, confused.

"Well, I hate to bear bad news," I said, stating the obvious. "But I think there were some complications."

She shook her head. "It's just a dream, that's all. It's just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream." She turned away from her body so she didn't have to look, it wasn't going to help any.

"Tessa, it's not a dream." I said. How I wish it was, most of the time you could wake up from those.

"Then what else could it be?" She asked, looking at me.

"You ever heard of an out of body experience?" I asked, looking at her.

"What are you, some new agey guy?" She asked, amused at what I'd said.

I frowned, a little taken aback. "You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni?" I said with a smirk. "It's actually a very old idea. Got a lot of different names: bilocation, crisis apparition, fetches... I think it's happening to us. And if it is, it means that we're spirits of people close to death."

"So we're going to die?" She asked, eyes brimming with tears.

"No. Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better, we can snap right back in there and wake up." I said, determined. That was exactly what was going to happen, Sam and Beth would figure it out, they always did. Who knows, maybe Tessa had some guardian angel watching her back.

* * *

**Dean's POV **

I had been observing Tessa for a little over an hour. She seemed to be taking things pretty well, all things considered.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed." I said to her. She turned to me with a smile.

"With what?" She asked.

"With you. Most people in your spot would be jello right now, but uh, you're taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me." I said, admitting for the first time that maybe this was starting to get to me.

"Don't get me wrong. I was pretty freaked at first. But now, I don't know. Maybe I'm dealing." Tessa said, shrugging her shoulders.

"So you're ok with dying?" I asked. I sure as hell knew I wasn't.

"No, of course not. I just think, whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen. It's out of my control, it's fate." I looked at her and started to wonder if Beth wasn't possessing her somehow, sounded like some kind of crap she might spin at a time like this.

"Huh. Well that's crap." I said, turning to her. "You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die, or you can keep fighting, no matter what..."

"Room 237 code blue. Dr Kripke to room 237, code blue." The announcement came over the PA system and a couple of nurses and a doctor ran past, I moved to follow.

"Where are you going?" Tessa called out.

"Just wait here!" I said, moving quickly toward the room. I ran down the hallway, and followed them into the room. The spirit I'd seen earlier was hovering over a little girl who was in the process of being resuscitated. It reached a thin, wavery hand toward the little girl's face.

"Get away from her!" I yelled, lunging at the spirit. It vanished, but the little girl still faded. The nurses had stopped resuscitation. A doctor looked resigned and sighed.

"All right, let's call it." He said.

"Time of death, five eleven pm," another doctor said.

"At least she's not suffering any more." I frowned. What was going on here?

* * *

**Beth's POV**

I had been in Dean's room for the better part of an hour, I was so tired, but I refused to budge. His hand was limp in mine, but I didn't want to let it go. The steady beat of his heart on the monitor was a comfort, and I leaned my head down on the bed beside his hand, closing my eyes for a few moments.

"Dean..." I whispered, lying my face against his hand. "You have to come back to us. You can't leave me here alone, I couldn't bare it. There's so many things we haven't done." I sat up, sniffing back tears, thinking of some of our 'to do list' items which we never got around to completing, but still added to whenever we heard about them.

"What about the Capilano Suspension Bridge you keep threatening to bungee jump off? Or the sleepover with the sharks at that aquarium in Georgia? And we said we'd go to Mexico – if we can scrounge up some visas and passports that won't get us thrown in jail – to do that white water rafting adventure? Cave exploring in Alabama... the roadtrip to Alaska to see the northern lights..." I gulped, staring at his lifeless body before me. "Come on, we haven't even been to Area 51, you can't let me go to Roswell and investigate UFO's all on my own can you?" I bit my lip, what was I going to do?

The door opened, and I looked up. Sam entered the room quietly, looking at me apologetically. I smiled and looked curiously at the brown paper bag he had in his arms.

"Hey." Sam said, looking at me. "Look, I think maybe Dean's around. And if he is, well, don't make fun of me for this, but um, well there's one way we can talk to him."

I looked at him confused. "How?" I asked.

Sam pulled a box out of the paper bag he was carrying, it was called the _Mystical Talking Board._ I scoffed. "You're joking, right?"

Sam looked at me as if to reprimand me for making fun of him, pulling up a chair to sit on the other side of Dean's bed. He positioned the table between us and started to open the box, pulling out the board.

"Sam, this is ridiculous." I muttered at him, shaking my head.

"Come on, just try it. You've seen stranger things." Sam said, and I sighed. Maybe he was right.

He put the pointer in the centre of the board and placed his hands on it, giving me a stern look indicating I should too.

I blew out a breath and complied. "Man, I feel like I'm at a slumber party," I muttered to him and he threw me a grin. "Sam, this isn't going to work."

Sam ignored me, and looked about the room. "Dean? Dean are you here?"

I waited, rolling my eyes, no way was this going to work. Suddenly the pointer started to move, sliding over to the YES on the board.

"You did that!" I accused Sam, eyes narrowing.

"No way, no way Beth, I'm telling you, it's Dean!" Sam said shaking his head.

He laughed, looking up to the ceiling. "It's good to hear from you, man. It hasn't been the same without you Dean." Well he was right about that, I conceded.

The pointer started moving around under our fingers, and I frowned.

"What?" I asked, looking at the pointer.

"H...U...? Hunt? Hunting. What? Are you hunting?" Sam asked to the empty room.

The pointed slid back to YES.

"It's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do, do you know what it is?" Sam asked, getting excited.

"One question at a time Sam..." I said, when the pointer didn't move.

"What is it?" Sam asked, and looked at me, waiting for the answer.

The pointer slide again, this time to R...E...A...P

"A reaper?" I asked, something about that rang true and I gulped. The pointer moved to YES.

"Dean, is it after you?" Sam asked. Again the pointer moved away and back to YES.

I swallowed, suddenly feeling like my world was slipping out from under me. "If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it." I said quietly to Sam.

"Yeah, you can't kill Death..." Sam said mournfully.

Sam suddenly stood up from the bed, breaking contact with the board. "No. No, no, no, um, there's gotta be a way." He paced, running a frantic hand through is hair. "There's gotta be a way," he said turning to me and then he nodded. "Dad'll know what to do." He walked out the door in a hurry, leaving me with a full on ouija board and comatose Dean. Oh yeah, my day was just peachy.

I stepped out of Dean's room, I couldn't look at his lifeless body any longer. Sam hadn't come back, it had been ten minutes or so. I walked past John's room, and it was empty, neither he nor Sam were there. I kept walking, thinking I'd just have to find them myself.

A familiar tug on my stomach made me almost drop to my knees. I gasped, looking around at the area. Nothing looked different, but something was. Something was here, coming. I groaned and steadied my feet under me. I tuned into the pain, and it felt as if a tendril were grabbing at me, and if it were grabbing me, it meant I could follow it.

Dropping my mental shields, stopping the litany that was automatically in my head as soon as I started feeling like this, I allowed that hook to pull on me. I felt it leading me downstairs, and I got on the elevator as soon as the doors near me opened. I was going to the basement, I suddenly knew exactly where John was.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

Tessa had wandered off, so I decided to come back to my room, I was looking for Beth, but she wasn't there. Sam came into the room carrying Dad's journal though, and I smiled. Sam frowned for a moment, noticing the absence of Beth too, but then he shrugged and started flipping through the journal, talking to me, complete trust that I was listening.

"Hey. So Dad wasn't in his room." Sam said.

"Where is he?" I wondered out loud. Great, now both he and Beth were gone, never boded well in the past.

"But I got Dad's journal, so who knows? Maybe there's something here."

Sam was going from page to page, leafing through the journal, looking at my lifeless body occasionally. I moved to stand behind him so I could look at what was in the journal.

"Thanks for not giving upon me Sammy." I said to my little brother, even though he couldn't hear me.

Sam found the page on reapers, I leaned forward and started reading. That's when it dawned on me.

"Son of a bitch!" I cursed, turning and leaving the room, I stalked down the hall, back toward where I'd come, I couldn't believe what I'd just seen, how could I have been so stupid? What were the chances of running into another spiri all disembodied in a hospital? Next to none.

I found the room I was looking for and stepped inside, narrowing my eyes.

Tessa was sitting on the side of the now empty bed, dressed in a simple black shirt and pants.

"Hi Dean." She said to me. I wasn't having any of it.

I paced in the room, looking at her with angry eyes. "You know, you read the most interesting things. For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn't. Basically they can make themselves appear however they want. Like, say, a pretty girl. You're much prettier than the last reaper I met.." I finished, stopping to look at her.

"I was wondering when you would figure it out." She said calmly, watching me.

"I should have known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid back for a dead chick. But the mother, and the body, I'm still trying to figure that one out." I said, referring to the whole illusion of her appendectomy gone wrong.

"It's my sandbox, I can make you see what I want," she said to me.

"What, is this like a turn-on for you? What, toying with me?" I asked, frowning.

"You didn't give me much choice. You saw my true form and you flipped out. Kinda hurts a girl's feelings. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me." She said.

"OK, fine. Nice touch with the whole semi-Beth thing you got going on I might add," I gestured to her hair and eyes. She smiled as if to say, _well it worked. _

"So we're talking." I said. "What the hell do you want to talk about?"

"How death is nothing to fear," she said, standing to touch my face. "It's your time to go Dean. And you're living on borrowed time already."

"Look, I'm sure you've heard this before, but... you've gotta make an exception, you've gotta cut me a break." I said to Tessa, backing away to the window. I had to make her understand. I stared out the window into the darkness, my reflection staring back at me was all I could see.

"Stage three: bargaining." She said to me, as if I didn't know what I was doing.

"I'm serious. My family's in danger. See, we're kind of in the middle of this, um, war... and they need me." I explained, it sounded so ridiculous when you said it like that.

"The fight's over." Tessa said, shaking her head.

"No, it isn't," I whispered, fighting back tears.

"It is for you. Dean. You're not the first soldier I've plucked from the battlefield. They all feel the same. They can't leave. Victory hangs in the balance. But they're wrong. The battle goes on without them."

"But Beth... my brother... they could die without me." I said, and I couldn't let them happen, they were my responsibility, they were mine to protect, I couldn't leave them to fight this war alone.

"Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Nothing you can do about it." I turned and walked away, I didn't want to hear that, there had to be something I could do, I wouldn't back down.

Tessa turned to look at me. "It's an honourable death. A warrior's death." She said softly.

"I think I'll pass on the seventy two virgins thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway... and Beth would kill me." I almost smiled at that thought, of course I'd already be dead.

"That's funny. You're very cute." Tessa said almost smiling.

"There's no such thing as an honourable death." I pointed out to her. "My corpse is going to rot in the ground and my family is going to die! No. I'm not going with you, I don't care what you do."

Tessa looked contemplative. "Well, like you said. There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But, you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent."

"What are you saying?" I asked, watching her, her quiet and calm demeanour was scarier than any monster I'd ever faced, this wasn't what I expected in death.

"Dean. How do you think angry spirits are born?" Tessa asked. "They can't let go and they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt."

* * *

**Beth's POV**

The boiler room was dark and water dripped in places. I crept through the shadows, I could hear John ahead of me, I had to be extra careful not to let him hear me.

I moved forward, crouching low behind some storage crates. I could see John, he was in a chalk circle with symbols around him, two red candles either side of an ancient bowl. There was what looked like a janitor in front of him, but he was possessed, I didn't need my demon sense to tell me that, the yellow eyes looking back at John were evidence enough – John had summoned the demon, here. I froze, suddenly very aware of what a dangerous situation I found myself in. I felt anger rising in me, how could he be down here hunting that thing while Dean's life hung in the balance upstairs? We needed his help and it was the same old vendetta, again and again.

"You conjuring me, John. I'm surprised. I took you for a lot of things. But suicidally reckless wasn't one of them." The demon spoke, smiling at John, eyes glinting.

"I could always shoot you." John said confidently, the colt pointed at the demon.

"You could always miss." The demon laughed, turning to look back at John. "And you've only got one try, don'tcha? Did you really think you could trap me?"

"Oh, I don't want to trap you." John said, lowering the gun. "I want to make a deal." I frowned, swallowing hard. What the hell was going on? The demon looked at John, intrigued.

"It's very unseemly, making deals with devils. How do I know this isn't just another trick?" The yellow-eyed demon asked John.

"It's no trick. I will give you the colt and the bullet, but you've got to help Dean. You've got to bring him back." John said. I gaped, so this had been his plan all along. I battled back tears, shaking my head. No, this wasn't the way.

"Why, John, you're a sentimentalist. If only your kids knew how much their daddy loved them," the demon smiled, looking in my direction. I scooted back into the shadows with a frown. Did he know I was here? If so, why was I still here?

"It's a good trade. You care a hell of a lot more about this gun than you do Dean." John said, and I knew he was right. I paused, maybe this would work.

"Don't be so sure. He killed some people very special to me." The demon looked back at John, anger in his eyes. He stared long and hard at John, who didn't back down.

"But still, you're right, he isn't much of a threat. And neither is your other son." I frowned, what was that supposed to mean? John lowered his head slightly, and then looked up at the demon again.

"You know the truth, right? About Sammy? And the other children?" The demon asked.

"Yeah. I've known for a while." John responded. I swallowed, what on earth were they talking about?

"But Sam doesn't, does he? You've been playing dumb..." the demon chuckled.

"Can you bring Dean back? Yes or no?" John asked through gritted teeth, ignoring the comment.

"No." The demon said, then he smiled coyly. "But I know someone who can, it's not a problem." I looked down, barely breathing, hoping against hope that this would work.

"Good," John said. "But before I give you the gun, I'm going to want to make sure that Dean's ok. With my own eyes."

"Oh John, I'm offended. Don't you trust me?" The demon chuckled. John shook his head slowly.

"Fine," said the demon, nodding.

"So we have a deal?" John asked.

"No, John, not yet. You still need to sweeten the pot." The demon said, looking at him with amusement.

"There's something else I want, as much as that gun. Maybe more." He said.

"What?" John asked.

Suddenly I found myself being manhandled, strong hands grabbed my arms.

"The girl." Said the yellow-eyed demon, turning to smile at me as I was pulled into the room. John's eyes flashed at me angrily, I knew he was thinking I was an idiot for having followed him. And I was.

"I can't give you the girl." John said, raising the colt to the demon again, cocking it.

"Hmmm.. well perhaps she will give herself to me, in exchange for precious Dean's life?" He turned both yellow eyes to me and I felt myself drowning a little, the dizziness started wash over me in waves and I gasped for air.

"Stop it!" John said, moving toward the demon, putting the gun at his very head.

The demon paused, looking at John out the corner of his eye.

"OK. Not the girl then. Something just as good." He looked at John, the colt now pointing directly at his forehead.

"Your soul John. To do what I want with, for all eternity." The demon said.

"What? No! Dad you can't." I muttered, struggling against the two possessed men holding me.

"Shut up Beth." John looked at me, angry.

The demon smiled, waiting. John stared at him long and hard.

"You let her go unharmed, and you bring Dean back alive and well, and you have a deal." John said.

"No!" I said in horror, shaking my head.

The demon flicked his eyes at me, looking a little disappointed for a moment. But then looked back at John.

"Deal!" He said, and nodded. Suddenly I was released and the demons stepped back. John pulled me behind him, and I put him between me and the demon.

"I'll be seeing you soon Johnny boy." The demon promised, turning to walk out of the room with the other two demons. We waited until they were gone.

"Dad! What are you doing?!" I cried out, turning him to face me. "You can't do this, are you insane?!"

"Bethie, Bethie stop... it's the only way. It's the only way!" He was shaking me, looking at me.

"No, no we haven't looked, we haven't even started to look..." I said to him, tears in my eyes.

"There's no time Beth, Dean is living on borrowed time as it is. We need to get him back now, before it's too late." John said to me, I shook my head.

His eyes softened, and he reached out a hand to my cheek. "Beth it's ok. I'm your father. You have to let me do this, for you kids." I shook my head again, silent tears running down my cheek.

"If Sam had shot me, if he'd killed me when he had the chance, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Dean would be ok. But he didn't, and so it doesn't make much difference to me now – either way I should be dead." He was pleading with me to understand, it was unlike John.

"Dean has fought this battle for me, he's done everything I asked, putting his own needs aside. You both have. I want something more for you both, for all three of you. This needs to end now. You need to go back to your lives and stop fighting." He kissed my forehead, holding me gently. I buried my face in his chest and sobbed, I couldn't change his mind. What lives was he talking about? All we knew how to do was fight.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

I was sitting on the bed with Tessa, she was stroking my hair. It was comforting, like Beth used to do when I was stressed. I wondered if she knew about that.

"It's time to put the pain behind you." Tessa said.

"And go where?" I asked, resigned.

"Sorry. I can't give away the big punchline." She said with a smile. Her smile faded to a serious look. "Moment of truth. No changing your mind later. So what's it going to be?"

I turned to face her, my decision weighing on the tip of my tongue. Suddenly the lights started to flicker and a buzzing sound droned.

"What are you doing that for?" I asked her, but she was looking scared, panicked.

"I'm not doing it." She said, looking around.

Black smoke started pouring out of the vent near us and I blinked.

"What the hell?" I asked, confused.

Tessa was frantically backing away. "You can't do this! Get away!" She screamed at the black smoke.

"What's happening?" I asked, backing up.

The black smoke poured into Tessa's mouth and she screamed, I watched in horror as it filled her, the scream turning to a groan. Then there was nothing for a moment, just her back to me.

She spun around suddenly, blinking, revealing yellow eyes to me.

"Today's your lucky day, kid!" She said, placing a hand on my head. I felt a darkness overcome me and fell forward. Everything went black.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

The doctor was looking at me with wonder. Apparently I was the second miracle he'd had in a day.

"I can't explain it." He said. "The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you."

"Thanks, doc." I said, nodding. It sounded good, so why did I feel so empty?

I turned to Sam, noticing the absence of Beth in the room.

"You said a Reaper was after me?" I asked.

"Yeah." Sam said, nodding.

"How'd I ditch it?" It sounded more and more suspicious to me. Something wasn't right, you don't just ditch reapers and walk away.

"You got me." Sam said, shrugging. "Dean, you really don't remember anything?"

"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Sam, some thing's wrong." I said, voicing my fears.

There was a knock at the door and there she was, smiling, bright and bubbly – Dad standing beside her, watching us all.

"I found him," Beth said with a smile, she'd been smiling all night. But when she thought I wasn't looking, there was a sadness behind those eyes, I was still puzzling that one out.

"How you feeling, dude?" Dad asked me, still loitering in the doorway.

"Fine, I guess," I answered, looking back to him as Beth slid into the chair beside the bed, reaching out to take my hand. "I'm alive."

"That's what matters." Dad said softly, giving Beth a look. I frowned, what was that?

"Where were you last night?" Sam asked, angrily, glaring at Dad.

"I had something to take care of," Dad said.

"Well, that's specific." Sam snapped.

"Come on, Sam," I said warningly, now was so not the time to start this crap up again.

"Did you go after the demon?" Sam asked, turning to Dad.

"No." John said quietly.

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?" Sam asked, getting louder.

"Can we not fight right now?" Beth asked, anxious. She was biting her lip, looking between Dad, Sam and me. "You know, half the time you're fighting, I don't even know what you're fighting about, you're just butting heads, seriously, just … stop it." Sam looked chastised, and I reached out a hand to brush some hair out of her eyes, smiling at her. _That's my girl._

"Look, Sammy. I, I've made some mistakes," Dad said suddenly, "but I've always done the best I could. I don't want to fight any more, ok?" There were tears in his eyes. Well this was new.

"Dad, are you all right?" Sam asked, apparently he thought so too.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?" Dad asked, looking at Sam.

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding, suddenly quiet and dutiful. "Yeah, sure." He left frowning and Dad watched him walk away, there was a sadness in his eyes. Now I knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" I asked as soon as he turned back to me.

Dad looked at me, then Beth, coming to stand by us at the bed.

"You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt... and after what I'd seen, I'd be, I'd be wrecked." He paused, tears in his eyes. "And you, you'd come up to me and you, you'd put your hand on my shoulder and you'd look me in the eye and you'd... you'd say 'It's ok Dad.'" He was close to tears, I frowned, what was he talking about?

"Dean, I'm sorry." Dad said and I looked up at him, surprised.

"What?" I asked.

"You shouldn't have had to say that to me, I should have been saying that to you. You know, I put, I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy, you took care of me, and then you took care of Beth too." He smiled down at Beth when he said that, putting his free hand on her shoulder, she was staring at him, looking like she might cry. Suddenly I wasn't sure I wanted to hear the rest.

"You did that, and you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you." Dad said. He looked at Beth again. "Both of you."

"This really you talking?" I asked, I'd never heard anything like it come out of his mouth.

"Yeah. Yeah it's really me." Dad said, sniffing back tears.

"Why are you saying this stuff?" I asked, I knew I wasn't going to like the answer. I glanced at Beth, and she looked troubled.

"I want you both to watch out for Sammy, ok?" He said, looking at us. Beth was nodding, tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, Dad, you know we will. You're scaring me." I whispered.

"Don't be scared Dean." Dad said, and then he leaned in to me, whispering something about Sammy, and Beth was crying quietly, like she already knew what he was going to say. I pulled back looking at him, shocked.

He looked at me long and hard, then at Beth, smiling and touching her cheek. She sniffed back tears and nodded. What the hell had I missed while I was out?

When he left, I turned to Beth. "Are you ok?" I asked, brushing the tears from her cheek.

"Yeah, it's just been... a really long week... you know?" She asked, fresh tears in her eyes. I nodded, it'd been a long year. She stood up to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked, she threw me a hesitant smile.

"I'll be right back, don't go anywhere." She said leaning down to kiss me, I looked at her, confused. "I just want to check on Dad, he seems... I don't know... I won't be long." I nodded, yeah, I was worried about Dad too.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

He'd told me not to, but I couldn't let him go through it alone. I followed him into his room, saw him place the colt on the table over the bed. I hovered in the doorway as John looked over at the so-called janitor. Those yellow eyes stared back at him.

John heard me gasp and turned, frowning. "Beth, you shouldn't be here." I shook my head at him.

"You don't get to do this alone. Not after all you've done for us." I said, stepping up and taking his hands in mine. Fresh tears welled up, but I could do this, I could see this through. I had to. For Dean.

John leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine with a sigh. "I'm so proud of you Beth, you're everything I ever wanted in a daughter." He said softly, then pulled back to look me in the eyes. "You take care of your brothers." I nodded, words long gone.

He turned to the demon, who was smiling.

"Okay." John said, resignation in his eyes and posture. "Do it." He stared at me, and it was like watching my father die all over again, those eyes watching me, the light about to leave them.

The demon stepped forward with a delighted laugh, and pressed his hand to John's head. I watched, horrified, as John convulsed in front of me, falling to the ground, dropping my hands as he fell. I stared long and hard, not wanting to believe this was happening.

Then I turned my eyes to the demon, showing it my hatred. "See you around sweetcakes," he said with a smile, picking up the colt and brushing past me. I was alone, my father at my feet once again, and it all came crashing down. I fell to my knees, cradling his head in my hands, tears running down my cheeks.

Sam walked past at that moment, carrying a cup of coffee and saw us, I looked up at him and his eyes registered shock.

"Dad?!" He said. The rest was as if it was in slow motion. Sam dropped the cup of coffee, running to us, and screamed for help from the medical staff.

I was pulled out of the room and thrust by Sam into Dean's arms, he turned to go back in but a nurse stopped him. We had no choice but to wait at the door.

"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad!" Dean cried out. "Come on..."

"Okay, stop compressions," the doctor said, it was doing no good, and I knew it.

"Still no pulse," the nurse said.

"Okay, that's it," the doctor said. "I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41am."

He was gone, and there was nothing to be done. We stood there, staring, our Dad was dead and we couldn't do anything to change that. All this time we'd been looking for him, maybe it would have been better if he'd stayed hidden. I turned and buried my face in Dean's shoulder, he was in shock, arm wrapped around me. I didn't know what was worse, that I knew of the ultimate sacrifice John had made for his son, or that I was more relieved that he'd done it because it meant that I had Dean with me, here and now.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

There were like 3 or 4 different ways I could have written this story, I went with this one to tell John's story a little bit more. John reminds me _a lot _of my own father, strict, domineering, but at the end of the day would do anything for you, and is always just trying to do his best for his kids. This episode was really quite heart breaking for me when I saw it for the first time, it still gets me.

* * *

The song for the chapter is: _**Get out alive **_**by Three Days Grace**

* * *

Thanks always to everyone who takes the time to leave a review – and for all the people who commented on _Highway To Hell. _I hope you enjoy this story just as much as the last! Please let me know what you think!


	3. Everybody Loves A Clown

_I can feel you falling away__  
__No longer the lost__  
__No longer the same__  
__And I can see you starting to break__  
__I'll keep you alive__  
__If you show me the way__  
__Forever - and ever__  
__the scars will remain__  
__I'm falling apart__  
__Leave me here forever in the dark_

* * *

**EVERYBODY LOVES A CLOWN**

* * *

_**South Dakota – 1 week earlier**_

_The funeral pyre was set up in the woods, far from where we'd attract any notice from people who didn't understand our ways. A hunter should be salted and burned, that's the way, ensuring no one could reanimate our body, or use it any other way to harm others. As such, the three of us had to watch our father burn._

_Sam was crying, he seemed to be taking it the hardest given the argument he'd had with John before he died. He fought against his tears, but he failed to contain them. Dean was scarily silent, staring at the fire. Sam leaned against me and I put my arm around his waist, supporting him with a hug. He wrapped his arm around me and crushed me to him. He was devastated._

_When he found his voice, Sam looked over at Dean, who was standing a few feet away, he still hadn't moved._

"_Before he...before, did he say anything to you? About anything?" Sam asked Dean, wanting to believe there was something John had passed on to any of us, something to hold on to._

_Dean stared straight ahead, unmoving. "No. Nothing." Dean lied, and I closed my eyes, squeezing Sam tight. Sam fidgeted a little more and then broke away, moving back to the car, not wanting to watch any longer. I looked over at Dean, he was still staring at the fire, but his face had shifted._

_I walked over and looked at him, there was the trickle of a few tears running down from one eye. His eyes flicked to me, forlorn, and I swallowed, offering him a sad smile. I reached up and brushed at the tears with my thumb, hand cupping his cheek as I looked at him. He closed his eyes and leaned in to my touch, a shuddering sigh passing from his lips. I slipped my arm around his waist, twisting to look back at the fire, holding him as I had held Sam. Not demanding, not overbearing, just … there. It seemed to be enough._

* * *

**South Dakota – Present Day**

Dean was under the Impala, again, he'd spent the better part of the week there, beating, bending, twisting and when nothing else worked kicking the thing back together. It was looking considerably better than it had been, the outer was little more than a rusted frame, but it was whole, and no longer crushed like it had been after Bobby had towed it back to his junk yard.

I was lying on the hood of one of the other cars right next to the Impala, sun bathing in shorts and a tank top, sunglasses on and a book in hand – nothing serious, just a bit of comedic relief in the form of _Stephanie Plum _by Janet Evanovich, it made me laugh, Lord knows I needed that lately, I often caught Dean smiling at me as I laughed out loud at one of the antics in the book.

Bobby had been teaching me to cook – a skill I'd never really picked up with our nomadic lifestyle, I was quite enjoying it, but I found it was easier on Dean to be outdoors with him. He hadn't said anything, but I found if I was inside, that's where he ended up too. Since our near-death experiences, he'd barely let me out of his sight, which was odd coming from Dean, and it worried me. That he would rather hang out in a kitchen rather than work on a car was troubling.

So I'd taken to reading and listening to music outdoors, enjoying the warmer weather, and occasionally he let me work on the car with him – which meant I got to be his tool fetch, but I didn't mind. We'd been at it all week – a strange comfort in this routine overshadowed by the grief we were all feeling. I caught sight of Sam wandering toward us and smiled, he was looking a lot better, the swelling and bruises had faded to next to nothing.

"How's the car coming along?" Sam asked Dean, who was visible only by his boots legs sticking out.

"Slow." Dean said, working away at a bolt.

"Yeah? Need any help?" Sam asked.

Dean moved his head as a piece of the exhaust hit the ground beside him. I shook my head, the car was a mess, but far be it from me to say anything about it.

"What, you under a hood? I'll pass." Dean said to Sam moving further under the car.

Sam shook his head, slightly frustrated. "Need anything else, then?" He asked, throwing his hand in the air.

Dean rolled out from under the car and stood up with a frown.

"Stop it Sam," He said, moving over to the workbench.

"Stop what?" Sam asked.

"Stop asking if I need anything, stop asking if I'm ok. I'm ok. Really. I promise." Dean said, switching out a piece of his socket wrench for a different size.

"All right, Dean, it's just... we've been at Bobby's for over a week now, and you haven't brought up Dad once." Sam said.

"You know what? You're right." Dean said and Sam smiled, thinking he'd gotten through to him. I slid down from the car and walked over to lean casually against the Impala, arms crossed.

"Come here. I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, and maybe even slow dance." Dean said rolling his eyes at his brother. I snickered, Sam kind of had that one coming, did he not know his brother at all?

"Don't patronise me Dean. Dad is dead. The colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you're acting like nothing happened." Sam said, I swallowed hard, looking down.

"What do you want me to say?" Dean asked, shrugging.

"Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! You don't talk to me, you don't talk to Beth!" I looked up sharply at that comment and Dean turned to give me an appraising look. I shrugged, it hadn't been me that told him that. "Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge?" Sam was on a roll, as usual. "But all you do is sit out here all day long buried underneath this damn car!"

"Revenge, huh?" Dean smirked, shaking his head.

"Yeah." Sam said, nodding.

"Sounds good. You got any leads on where the demon is? Making heads or tails of any of Dad's research? Because I sure ain't. But you know, if we do finally find it – oh. No, wait, like you said. _The Colt is gone. _But I'm sure you've figured out another way to kill it. We've got nothing Sam. Nothing okay? So you know the only thing I can do? Is I can work on the car." Dean was on a roll of his own, finally letting go of some of the frustration and anger building inside. He knelt down and started pulling on another section of the frame, still working away.

"Well, we've got something all right?" Sam said, looking at Dean and then me. He pulled out a cellphone and I looked at it curious.

"It's what I came out here to tell you. This is one of Dad's old phones. Took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail code. Listen to this." Sam switched the phone to speaker and held it out. Dean stood up reluctantly, and took the phone, leaning back against the side of the Impala next to me.

"_John, it's Ellen. Again. Look, don't be stubborn, you know I can help you. Call me._" A woman's voice. I exchanged a look with Dean, she didn't sound familiar.

"That message is four months old." Sam said, looking at us both.

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" Dean asked, scoffing.

"Yeah," Sam said, nodding.

"Well, who's Ellen? Any mention of her in Dad's journal?" I asked, trying to think whether I'd come across her.

"No. But I ran a trace on her phone number and I got an address." Sam said. This caught Dean's attention and he tilted his head, thinking, it was the most interested in something other than the Impala that I'd seen him in a week.

"Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars." He said to me, and I nodded heading inside. I knew he wouldn't be far behind. I was going to organise the car, have a shower, and get out of my sweat drenched clothes if we were going anywhere near society.

* * *

**Harvelle's Roadhouse  
****_Central Nebraska_**

Six hours later and we were pulling up in front of the Roadhouse in one of Bobby's beat up old minivans. It had barely made the trip, and would probably need some tinkering with from Dean just to get back to South Dakota, but we had made it. A high pitched squeal came from under the car as Dean threw it into park and killed the engine with a grimace.

"This is humiliating." He claimed, getting out of the car. He came to the side of the car and I tapped on the window. He rolled his eyes and opened the side door for me so I could get out, the inside handle didn't exactly work. "I feel like a friggin' soccer mom!" He complained.

"It's the only car Bobby had running," I said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before sliding out of the van, adjusting my jeans and jacket.

The Roadhouse looked abandoned, I slid my sunglasses to the top of my head and looked around. We were sitting in the middle of a gravelled patch of land, old petrol bowsers sat dusty and unattended. The Roadhouse itself was dried up old weatherboard, a tin roof over the front porch. The windows looked dark and dirty, there wasn't a soul around.

"Hello?" Sam called out, wandering down the side of the saloon. "Anyone here?!"

Dean was looking in the window and tried the door, it was locked.

"Hey," he said to me, "did you bring the.. uh?"

I reached into my pocket, pulling the picks out. "Of course." I quipped with a smile, tossing them to him, it earned me a smile in return and I was thankful for small miracles. Maybe getting away from Bobby's for a bit was just what the doctor ordered.

Dean picked the lock and opened the door, stepping inside, Sam and I followed, closing the door behind.

The inside was considerably more comfortable than the outer. Wood panelling on the walls, wood floors and bar. A jukebox in the corner with tables and chairs scattered around the room. I eyed off the pool table, wondering if we might get a chance to get in a game, but then, given Dean's mood lately, I didn't like my chances.

My chances especially weren't good, given that someone was currently using it as a bed. I walked up and assessed the man, who was obviously passed out and unaware of our presence. He was thin and lanky, dressed in the same sort of clothes we all wore – jeans, t-shirt, flannel shirt. A blond mullet topped off the look and I raised my eyebrow.

"Hey buddy?" I said, circling the table. No answer. I looked up at Dean with a shrug. "I'm guessing this isn't Ellen."

"Yeah," Dean agreed, shaking his head.

Sam moved into a back room, taking a look around. Dean wandered back into the section of the bar with all the tables. I heard an intake of breath and spun around from my observations of the man on the pool table to see a pretty little blonde holding a rifle, smack in the middle of Dean's back. I raised my eyebrow and Dean grimaced at me.

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle." Dean said and I would have laughed, but the situation didn't seem that comical.

The girl cocked the rifle.

"No, I'm just real happy to see you. Don't move." She said, pressing the gun against his back again.

"Not moving, copy that." Dean said, raising his arms in the air.

"You know," I said, and she moved her eyes to look at me. "When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back... because it makes it real easy to..." Dean turned quickly, disarming the girl in one fluid motion, this time cocking the rifle at her.

"...do that." He finished with a grin. The girl didn't even hesitate, punching Dean in the face, taking the rifle back. I flinched, oooh that had to hurt. Dean doubled over, clutching his nose. I moved toward him but she was now backing up, putting enough distance between us that neither of us would get the drop on her, but both of us were within range for her to get a shot off.

"Sam! We could use a little help in here," Dean called out.

I reached Dean in a couple of strides, letting a look of displeasure settle in my eyes. "What are you nuts?" I asked the girl, "that was hardly necessary." She shrugged, raising an eyebrow at me.

Dean flinched as I touched his nose, checking him over. "I can't see, I can't even see," he muttered and I grimaced, she had packed one hell of a punch.

The back door opened to reveal Sam, both hands on his head moving very slowly into the room.

"Sorry Dean. I can't right now. I'm a little tied up." He nodded his head backwards toward another woman, standing with a handgun pointed at his head. I raised my eyebrow, were they serious? She waved Sam over near me before pausing to look at us all.

"Sam? Dean? … Winchester?" The older woman behind Sam asked.

"Yeah," the boys replied in unison, looking confused.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered, her eyes on Dean.

"Mom, you know these guys?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys." She turned to me, casting a gaze over my face. "Which would make you...Beth," I nodded, casting a questioning look at Dean who just shrugged at me.

She laughed, lowering the gun from Sam. "Hey, I'm Ellen. This is my daughter Jo," she said by way of introduction.

Jo lowered her gun and Dean threw her a tentative smile, still grimacing from his nose.

"Hey," Jo said, nodding to us.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you?" Dean asked, looking slightly worried. He narrowed his eyes at me and leaned in to me. "Don't let her hit me again, huh?" I chuckled, shaking my head at him.

"Don't piss her off then Dean," I grinned.

* * *

A few minutes later I was leaning against the bar behind Dean, who had taken a seat on a stool, Sam sat near him at a table. Ellen and Jo were facing us all from the other part of the bar.

"Here you go," Ellen said, handing Dean a towel with ice in it. He tentatively placed it against his nose, grimacing.

"Thanks." Dean said, nodding. "You called our Dad, said you could help. Help with what?"

"Well... the demon of course," Ellen said, looking at us. "I heard he was closing in on it."

Dean looked at me and shook his head. "What, was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who, who are you? How do you know about all this?"

"Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago. John was like family once." Ellen said.

"Yeah? How come he never mentioned you before?" I asked, looking over at the women.

Ellen pulled back, looking at me. "You'd have to ask him that." I swallowed, but Dean's look stayed my response.

"So why exactly do we need your help?" Dean asked instead.

"Hey, don't do me any favours. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if..." She stopped, eyes widening as she looked at Dean.

"He didn't send you." She said. Dean looked down, then glanced back at me.

"He's all right, isn't he?" Ellen asked.

"No." Sam answered quietly. "No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, um, it just got him before he got it, I guess."

"I'm so sorry." Ellen said to Dean.

He turned his head, putting on that false bravado. "It's ok. We're all right," he said with a half-smile.

"Really? I know how close you and your dad were," she said, not believing him for a moment.

"Really, lady, I'm fine." Dean said, and Ellen still looked disbelievingly at him. I stood up moving to place myself between Dean and Sam.

"Look, if you can help, we could use all the help we can get." I said softly, looking at Ellen.

"Well, we can't." Ellen said, exchanging a look with her daughter. "But Ash will."

"Who's Ash?" Sam asked, looking up.

"Ash!" Ellen called out loudly, causing the man on the pool table to jump and flail into a half seated position.

"What?" Ash asked, his mullet flipped around as he shook his head and he turned to face us, hand in the air. "It closin' time?" He asked, turning bleary eyes to us. I smirked and crossed my arms.

"That's Ash?" Sam asked, looking a little shocked.

"Mmhmmm," Jo said, nodding. "He's a genius."

* * *

We'd moved to the bar, Dean slapped a brown document wallet down in front of us. I was sitting on a stool one over from Sam, Dean standing in the middle. Jo was on the other side of the bar pouring us all some water.

"You've gotta be kidding me, this guy's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie." Dean scoffed, his arms crossed over his chest.

Ash laughed, sitting back on his stool from around the corner of the bar. "I like you," he said, nodding appreciatively.

"Thanks," Dean said, his facial expression not changing.

"Just give him a chance," Jo said, pouring another glass and putting it in front of me, I smiled my thanks at her and took a drink.

Dean sat between Sam and I and opened the folder.

"All right. This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so uh, let's see what you make of it." Dean challenged, sliding the folder over to Ash.

Ash pulled out the papers and started rifling through them, shaking his head.

"Come on. This crap ain't real." He said. "There ain't nobody can track a demon like this." Dean and Sam exchanged a disbelieving look, I set my gaze on Ash.

"Our dad could." I said, frowning at him.

"There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations, I mean... damn! They're signs. Omens. Uh, if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms..." He trailed off, looking at some of the documents of John's. "You even been struck by lightning?" He asked randomly, looking at me. "It ain't fun." He said, shaking his head.

"Can you track it or not?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah with this, I think so." He frowned at all the data. "Bit it's gonna take time, uh, give me..." he trailed off, looking as if he was doing a calculation in his head. "Fifty one hours." He came back with. I raised my eyebrow, that was very specific.

Ash got up to leave, gathering all the data together and walking toward the back room.

"Hey man?" Dean said to him, a smile on his face.

"Yeah?" Ash said, turning to look at him.

"By the way I, uh, I dig the haircut." Dean said, winking at Ash.

Ash looked pleased. "All business up front, party in the back," he said, running his hand through his hair and flipping the mullet around. He turned and went out the back of the room, and Jo walked past in a little apron, wearing something like I might wear on a night I was feeling frisky. She threw Dean a flirty look and I raised an eyebrow at him, he shook his head.

Sam was looking at something behind the bar and pointed. "Hey Ellen, what is that?" He asked.

Dean got up, moving slow, and headed over to one of the tables by the window, going all lone wolf on us again. I let him go, and slid on to his stool next to Sam, curious what had caught his attention.

"It's a police scanner. We keep tabs on things, we..." Ellen said, looking back at us.

"No, no, no, no, the, um, the folder." Sam said more specifically.

"Uh, I was gonna give this to a friend of mine." Ellen said, picking up the folder. "But take a look, if you want." She placed the folder in front of us and I leaned over Sam's shoulder to look.

There were a few newspaper clippings attached to the front of the folder, and a big red marker stated "Couple Murdered, Child Left Alive, Medford Wisconsin."

I grimaced. Wisconsin. "I swear to god nothing good ever happens in Wisconsin," I muttered and Sam threw me an amused look. They'd all heard this little complaint of mine before.

Jo was wiping down tables and sweeping, and she'd worked her way over to where Dean was, I turned to listen in to their conversation a little.

"How did your mom get into this stuff anyway?" Dean asked, looking over at the girl.

"From my dad. He was a hunter. He passed away." Jo said, looking at him.

"I'm sorry." Dean sympathised.

"It was a long time ago. I was just a kid. Sorry to hear about your dad." Jo replied and Dean looked across at me.

"Yeah." He said softly, his eyes were guarded and didn't reveal much.

"So," Dean said, shifting in his seat, leaning forward. "I guess we've got fifty-one hours to waste. I was wondering... you guys have rooms here?" I raised an eyebrow and looked up from the paperwork Sam and I were looking through.

Jo smiled at Dean, and leaned against another table, giving him an appraising look. "What did you have in mind?" She asked, smiling at him.

"Uh... nothing, just looking for a place to bed down for the night." Dean said, looking a little uncomfortable.

Jo raised an eyebrow. "You know, I thought you were gonna toss me some cheap pick-up line." Dean chuckled, a little embarrassed and glanced over at me, I watched the exchange, curious – normally Dean would be all over this, but he was curiously reserved.

"Most hunters come through that door think they can get in my pants with some... pizza, a six pack and side one of Zeppelin IV." Jo said with a smirk, but she had a playful expression in her eyes, she was seeing if he'd bite.

"Wow... what a bunch of scumbags." Dean said, shaking his head with a smile.

"Not you?" Jo asked with a curious expression.

"I guess not," Dean said, looking up at her. She raised an eyebrow at that.

"Hey Dean," Sam said, looking back at the papers in front of him. "I think we need to check this out."

"What is it?" He asked, coming over to look at the documents over our shoulders.

"A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of. Looks to me like there might be a hunt." Sam said, glancing at Dean.

"Yeah. So?" Dean asked stubbornly.

"So I think we should check it out," he said, this time looking at me. Dean sighed, looking between the pair of us, he knew he wasn't getting out of it.

* * *

**Minivan  
****On the road****  
**

It was dark, and pouring rain. Dean was driving, of course, and Sam sat in the front seat, reading all the articles and paperwork using a flash-light.

"You've gotta be kidding me. A killer clown?" Dean asked, staring out the windshield listening to Sam talk about the case.

"Yeah. He left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents. Ripped them to pieces, actually." Sam said, still reading.

"And this family was at some carnival that night?" I asked, sitting forward. There wasn't any seat belts in the back of the van anyway, why bother with sitting back.

"Right, yeah. The, uh, Cooper Carnivals," Sam said, glancing at some kind of report.

"So how do you know we're not dealing with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?" I asked, frowning.

"Well, the cops have no viable leads, and all the employees were tearing down shop. Alibis all around." Sam said, looking back at me. "Plus this girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. Cops are saying trauma, of course." I nodded, it did sound like possible case for us, we'd looked into less in the past.

Dean threw a grin at his brother, they had been rare this last week. "Well, I know what you're thinking, Sam." I looked at them curious and Dean smiled at me in the rear-view mirror.

"Why did it have to be _clowns_?" He chuckled and it got a laugh out of me.

"Oh, give me a break," Sam groaned.

"You didn't think I'd remember, did you?" Dean laughed. "I mean, come on, you still bust out crying whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television."

Sam rolled his eyes at Dean. "Well at least I'm not afraid of flying," he quipped back.

"Planes crash!" Dean exclaimed.

"And apparently clowns kill." Sam countered, and I chuckled.

"Touché," I said with a grin and Dean shook his head, changing the subject.

"So these types of murders, they ever happen before?" He asked.

"Uh, according to the file, 1981, the Bunker Brothers Circus, same M.O. It happened three times, three different locales," Sam answered, looking back at the paperwork.

"That's weird though," I said, reading over his shoulder. "I mean, if it is a spirit, it's usually bound to a specific locale, you know, a house or a town."

Sam looked thoughtful, glancing back at me. "So how's this one moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?"

"Cursed object, maybe?" Dean offered. "Spirit attached itself to something and the, uh, carnival carries it around with them."

"Great. Paranormal scavenger hunt." Sam groaned, looking out the window.

"Well this case was your idea," I said sympathetically, patting him on the shoulder.

"By the way, why is that?" Dean asked, looking at Sam. "You were awfully quick to jump on this job."

"So?" Sam asked, shrugging.

"It's just... not like you, that's all. I thought you were hell-bent for leather on the demon hunt." Dean said, watching Sam.

"I don't know, I just think, this job, it's what Dad would have wanted us to do." Sam said, looking back at me before turning to look at Dean.

"What Dad would have wanted?" Dean scoffed.

"Yeah. So?" Sam asked. I bit my lip, not wanting them to get into an argument, not now. I caught Dean's eye in the mirror and gave him a warning look. He sighed, and slightly inclined his head at me.

"Nothin'" Dean said, dropping the subject, earning a smile from me. He smiled back.

* * *

**Coopers Carnival – Medford Wisconsin  
**_**Next Morning**_**  
**

We'd driven all night to get to Wisconsin. It meant we were all a bit stiff and sore when Dean pulled the van into the parking lot, it let out a grinding squeal and Dean grimaced, embarrassed to be seen in such a car.

I leaned forward and nodded at the scene in front of us.

"Check it out. Five-oh." Dean said thoughtfully. There were a couple of detectives talking to some of the carnies standing around.

We got out of the van and went to take a look around. Dean separated from us and went to talk to the police, Sam and I lingered by one of the carnival rides, taking everything in. A little three-foot tall woman in a clown outfit passed us, I felt Sam stiffen a little when he saw her. He was staring at her, fidgeting and nervous, she stopped to stare back for a few moments before moving on with a smirk. Dean was walking over to us. He raised his eyebrow at the clown.

"Did you get her number?" He asked Sam, who scowled back at him.

"More murders?" I asked, changing the subject and nodding to the police.

"Two more last night. Apparently they were ripped to shreds." Dean informed us. "And they had had a little boy with them..."

"...who fingered a clown." Sam said uncomfortably.

Dean paused and gave Sam a weird look over the clown fears.

"What?" Sam asked defensively.

"Yeah, a clown, who apparently vanished into thin air." Dean said, looking back at the carnival.

"Dean, you know, looking for a cursed object is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles. They could be anything." Sam complained.

"Well, it's bound to give off EMF, so we'll just have to scan everything." Dean said, it was a simple enough plan.

"Oh, good, that's nice and … inconspicuous." Sam countered with a sigh.

I was looking over a sign on a post, it said "Help wanted... Enquire within: S. Cooper". I grinned and pushed myself off the side of the ride.

"Well then," I said to the boys, walking back toward the sign while looking at them. "I guess we'll just have to blend in." They looked at me confused, and then saw the sign. Dean grinned and Sam looked a little horrified.

I walked into the tent near where the sign was hanging.

There was a man inside, throwing knives at a target; they all landed pretty much on the bulls-eye. I cast an appreciative eye over this scene and thought about how long it had been since Dean and I had done any knife throwing practice. Too long.

"Excuse me, we're looking for a Mr Cooper," I said to the man.

"Have you seen him around?" Dean asked, stepping up next to me.

The man turned to look at us. "What is that, some kind of joke?" He asked, pulling his sunglasses off to reveal that he was blind. I grimaced.

"Oh. God, I'm, I'm sorry." Dean stuttered, and the man continued.

"You think I wouldn't give my eye-teeth to see Mr Cooper? Or a sunset, or anything at all?" He ranted.

Dean looked flustered and glanced back at Sam and I. "Wanna give me a little help here?" He said quietly.

"Not really." Sam said deadpan, he was still pissed over the clown comments.

"Hey man, is there a problem?" This voice came from behind us and I spun to see a dwarf – little person if you were wanting to be politically correct – standing behind us in a costume with a red cape.

"Yeah, this guy hates blind people." The other man said behind us.

"No, I don't, I..." Dean was struggling.

"Hey buddy, what's your problem?" The short guy said to Dean.

"Nothing, it's just a little misunderstanding," Dean said fidgeting.

"Little?! You son of a bitch!" The man said to him, scowling.

"No, no no no!" Dean said throwing me an SOS look.

I stepped in with a chuckle, looking from the blind man to the dwarf. "Could somebody just tell us where Mr. Cooper is, please?" I asked, and they all stared at me.

* * *

We were shown to Mr Cooper's office by the scowling dwarf and I smiled my thanks at him, he seemed to soften a little at that and gave me a passing smile as he left. Dean raised his eyebrow at me and I shrugged. He wasn't the only one with flirtation skills.

Mr Cooper waved us into his office. "You kids picked a hell of a time to join up. Take a seat." He gestured to a couple of available chairs in front of his desk. I grinned – one was a normal chair, the other pink with a giant clown face on it. Dean hurried to sit in the normal looking chair, giving Sam a challenging look.

Sam scowled, hesitating before the clown chair, and then pulled me forward, making me sit on it. He stood behind us, arms crossed and unhappy.

"We've got all kinds of local trouble," Mr Cooper was saying to Dean.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, leaning forward.

"Oh, a couple of folks got themselves murdered. Cops always seem to start here first." He said dismissively before turning a curious eye to us. "So, you kids ever worked the circuit before?"

Sam nodded from behind us. "Yes sir, last year through Texas and Arkansas."

"Yeah," Dean concurred, nodding.

"Doing what? Ride jockies? Butcher? ANS men?" He asked throwing some options at us. He was looking even more curiously at me.

"Yeah, it's a... little bit of everything I guess." Sam said uncertainly.

Mr Cooper sat back in his seat and shook his head with a smirk. "You three have never worked a show in your lives before, have you?"

I leaned forward, my turn. "Uh, no. But we really need the work Mr Cooper." I smiled at him.

Dean grinned. "And Sam here's got a thing for the bearded lady," he said chuckling, which earned him a frown from the man.

Mr Cooper looked at us seriously, pointing up at the wall. "You see that picture? That's my daddy."

"You look just like him," I said, nodding.

"He was in the business. Ran a freak show. Till they outlawed them, most places. Apparently displaying the deformed isn't dignified. So most of the performers went from honest work to rotting in hospitals and asylums. That's progress. I guess." He said with a smirk.

"You see, this place, it's a refuge for outcasts. Always has been. For folks that don't fit in nowhere else. But you kids?" He leaned forward on the desk, looking at us real serious. "You should go to school. Find yourself a couple of girls," he looked at Dean and Sam, then at me. "Or a guy. Have two point five kids. _Live regular."_

Dean started to say something, but Sam leaned forward from behind us, putting his hand on the back of Dean's chair.

"Sir? We don't want to go to school. And we don't want regular. We want this." He sounded so convincing, not like Sam at all. Dean and I exchanged a glance that told me he was thinking the same thing, and we turned to look at our younger brother who was looking dead serious at Mr. Cooper.

We were given jobs as trash collectors, I smiled, perfect – it would allow us to move around with relative ease. As we left Mr Cooper's trailer Dean looked lost in thought.

"Huh," he said eventually as we walked.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

"That whole, uh, I don't want to go back to school thing. Were you just saying that to Cooper or were you, you know, saying it?" Dean asked, still walking. Sam paused a moment, looking at the ground.

"Sam?" I asked, placing a hand on his arm.

"I don't know." Sam said, looking at us both. He started walking again.

"You don't know?" Dean asked, following him. "I thought that once the demon was dead and the fat lady sings that you were gonna take off, head back to Wussy State."

"I'm having second thoughts," Sam said stopping and turning to us.

"Really?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Yeah. I think. Dad would have wanted me to stick with the job." Sam said, nodding.

"Since when do you give a damn what Dad wanted?" Dean asked, looking dubious. "You spent half your life doing exactly what he didn't want, Sam."

"Since he died, ok?" Sam said, agitated. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Dean stopped and looked at me, I frowned. "No, no, I don't have a problem at all." He said dismissively, starting to walk away again. I stared at his back, and exchanged a worried glance with Sam. _Yeah, right. _I sighed, we had to get him talking or something, and soon. He was like a powder keg ready to explode, so wound up.

* * *

We'd been given red jackets that said "Cooper Carnival" on them. Dean loitered not too far from me, keeping me in eye sight as we moved around the grounds picking up trash. Sam was off on the other side of the carnival, doing the same thing, he had one of the EMF meters on him, Dean had the other. I made a mental note that this would be going a lot faster if we had one each, maybe we needed to look into that. It'd never been a problem before Sam joined us, but now we needed extras of everything.

Dean's phone rang and he answered it, I joined him just in time to hear him teasing Sam.

"What's the matter? You sound like you just saw a clown." Sam responded and then Dean looked at me.

"Like a real human skeleton?" He asked Sam over the phone. I raised my eyebrow.

"Did the bones give off EMF?" Dean asked after Sam spoke for a bit.

"We should check it out anyway. We're heading to you." Dean reached out to take my arm, but instead found his own grabbed. We turned to see the blind man from earlier in the day having come up behind us.

"What are you doing here kid?" He asked Dean.

"Ah, I was just sweeping." Dean said, frowning.

"Bull," the man answered. "And what were you talking about? Skeletons? What's EMF?" I grimaced and rolled my eyes at Dean.

"Dude, your blind man hearing is out of control." Dean said, stunned.

"We're a tight-knit group, we don't like outsiders, we take care of our own problems," the man said warningly.

"We got a problem?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"You tell me, you're the one talking about human bones." He said, staring blindly at Dean.

I smirked, and then had an idea. "Do you believe in ghosts?" I asked the blind man, and he turned to look in my direction, clearly confused by the sudden change in subject.

"What?" He asked.

I leaned in toward him, and whispered like I had a secret. "My brothers and me, we're writing a book about them." I put my arm around him and led him off in another direction, talking to him about this urban legend that my we'd dug up and were investigating. I threw Dean a look, telling him to get out of here, that I would catch up soon. He hesitated, but then nodded and walked off, throwing a couple of glances over his shoulder at me.

Fifteen minutes later I'd escaped Papazian and had found Dean and Sam at the fun-house, they were waiting for me.

"What took you so long?" Dean asked anxiously, walking up to meet me.

"Don't ask," I said with a groan, it had been almost impossible to get away from the man.

"Mommy, look at the clown!" A little girl near us said excitedly.

We spun around and looked at the little girl, she was pointing toward the tent.

"What clown?" Her mother asked, appearing confused. The little girl was still pointing, gesturing like she was seeing something we weren't, because when we looked where she was pointing, there was nothing to see.

We all exchanged a knowing look while watching the girl and her mother walk away.

* * *

**Little Girl's Home  
****_Later that night_**

I'd made Sam sit in the back for a change, I wanted to be up front for the stake-out. Sam was now leaning forward, looking over Dean and my shoulders.

"Beth, I cannot believe you told Papazian about the homicidal phantom clown." Sam said to me, shaking his head.

"I told him an _urban legend _about about a homicidal phantom clown," I clarified, looking at Dean who was rummaging about in a bag between us. "I never said it was real."

Dean pulled a gun out from the bag and cocked it. Sam reached over and pushed Dean's hands down.

"Keep that down!" He said anxiously, throwing me a stunned look. I shrugged and continued with my story.

"Oh, and get this. I mentioned the Bunker Brothers Circus in '81, and their uh, evil clown apocalypse? Guess what?"

Dean looked questioningly at me. "What?"

"Before Mr Cooper owned Cooper Carnival, he worked for Bunker Brothers. He was their lot manager." I said raising an eyebrow, pleased with my investigative work.

"So you think whatever the spirit's attached to, Cooper just brought it with him?" Sam asked.

"Something like that." I said, nodding.

Dean shook his head, a smile on his face. "I can't believe we keep talking about clowns," he said with a chuckle.

* * *

It had been hours since we started the stake-out. The family had gone to bed about an hour ago, the house was dark and quiet except for a couple of outdoor lights that had been left on. I was on watch duty while the boys got some sleep, slumped in their respective seats.

Dean's head was turned toward me and I gazed at it. He looked peaceful, about the only time he did these days was when he was sleeping. I reached out a hand to softly trace a finger along the gash on his forehead – it was still lightly scarred, but was healing, it had only been a week after all. At least it didn't look all red and sore any more. Dean stirred at my touch and mumbled a bit, shifting in his seat. I pulled back and turned my attention back to watching the house, it had been a long day. I checked my gun for about the twentieth time in the last two hours, it felt comforting in my hands.

Suddenly a light turned on in the house, catching my attention. The little girl was moving around the house. I grabbed Dean, shaking him, he startled awake looking to where I was pointing. I reached over and shook Sam, he looked up drowsily at me, but was instantly alert when he saw my concerned face.

Dean was already out of the car, crossing to the house, we followed behind him, guns at the ready. Letting ourselves in the back door using a credit card to open the door, we crept into the house and waited. The little girl was talking to someone in the living room, it sounded like they were playing a game.

After a little while the girl started to walk down the hallway toward the stairs that led to the bedrooms on the upper level. Dean and I had already moved down to the end of the hall to wait, I could see Sam in place on the other side of the alcove.

"Wanna see Mommy and Daddy?" The little girl asked, she was walking with a clown holding her hand. "They're upstairs."

As they passed us, I reached out and grabbed the girl, pulling her back into the living room away away from the clown. She screamed and fought me, but I held on tight.

"Hey!" Dean shouted, shooting the clown in the chest, it fell on its back on the floor, it didn't disappear like a spirit would. Dean frowned, cocking the gun again.

Suddenly the clown got back to it's feet. "Dean, watch out!" Sam called out, moving in with his own gun trained. The clown panicked and leaped back through the glass door behind it, turning invisible as it went. The parents of the little girl came running down the stairs.

"What's going on down there?" The dad yelled.

"Oh my god, what are you doing to my daughter?!" The mother cried and I panicked, I let go of the girl, thrusting her toward the parents and all three of us backed toward the door quickly.

"He shot my clown!" I heard the little girl saying as we ran down the path toward the van.

* * *

We dumped the van as soon as we could, in a ditch on some back road. Dean was getting the license plates off the van while Sam and I collected up all our things, throwing them in the duffel bags.

"You really think they saw our plates?" Sam asked Dean, who was now zipping them up in one of the bags.

"I don't want to take the chance. Besides, I hate this freaking van anyway." Dean said with a gesture toward the now abandoned vehicle.

We started to walk down the road, Dean took the bag I was carrying and tossed it over his shoulder, holding his own by his side. It was the little things like always carrying my bag that told me how much he cared, he was always taking care of me in his own ways – most other women would say it was chauvinistic and archaic, I thought it was sweet. He threw me smile and I lamented that they'd been a little rare lately.

"Well, one's things for sure," Dean said, looking ahead of us. "We're not dealing with a spirit. That rock salt hit something solid."

"Hmmm, a person?" I asked. "Or maybe a creature that can make itself invisible?"

"One that dresses up as a clown for kicks?" Sam asked with a horrified look. "Did you see anything in Dad's journal?" I shook my head to indicate that I hadn't.

Sam pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?" Dean asked, curious.

"Maybe Ellen, or that guy Ash will know something." He said flipping through his contacts list. "Hey you think, uh, you think Dad and Ellen ever had a thing?"

I raised my eyebrow at that and Dean smirked. "No way," he said.

"Then why didn't he tell us about her?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know, maybe they had some sort of falling out," he mused.

I contemplated that. "Yeah. You ever notice Dad had a falling out with just about everybody?" I asked quietly. Dean didn't answer, just kept walking, looking ahead of him, something had changed in the set of his jaw though.

"Hey, don't get all maudlin on us," Sam said, looking at him.

Dean looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean this 'strong silent' thing of yours Dean, it's crap." Sam said.

"Oh god!" Dean groaned, looking at me. I bit my lip, Sam really was like a dog with a bone. Did he really think I hadn't already had this conversation with Dean?

"I'm over it. This isn't just anyone we're talking about, this is Dad. We both know how you felt about the man." Sam pushed.

Dean shook his head, frustrated. "You know what, just back off, all right? Just because I'm not caring and sharing like you want me to..."

"No, no, no that's not what this is about Dean. I don't care how you deal with this. But you have to deal with, man!" Dean inclined his head, looking at me and then ahead of him again.

"Dean, we're just worried about you, that's all," I said quietly, looking over at him. "We just want to make sure you're ok." We kept walking, Dean between us, I had a moment to think it was a little like ganging up on him.

"Guys, I'm ok." Dean said throwing his hands in the air. "I'm ok, ok?" He said loudly. "I swear, the next one of you who asks me if I'm ok, I'm going to start throwing punches. These are your issues, quit dumping them on me!" He stopped walking, turning to look at Sam in particular.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused.

"I just think it's really interesting, this sudden obedience you have to Dad. It's like, oh, what would Dad want me to do? Sam, you spent your entire life slugging it out with that man. I mean, hell, you, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him. And now that he's dead, now you want to make it right? Well, I'm sorry Sam, but you can't, it's too little, too late." I flinched, but it was kind of true, and Dean had been stewing on this for a while, it was as if Sam had just opened a flood gate with this line of questioning. It was the exact reason I hadn't been pushing.

Sam's eyes teared up and he looked at his brother. "Why are you saying this to me?"

"Because I want you to be honest with yourself about this. I'm dealing with Dad's death!" Dean shouted, and then he paused. "Are you?" He asked, looking at Sam.

Sam paused, starting at his brother, struggling with the attack from Dean. "I'm going to call Ellen." Sam said quietly and walked off leaving us standing there.

Dean turned to me, anger flashing in his eyes.

"And you, you have something you want to say?" He asked me. I looked at him, hurt, and shook my head.

"No, no I think you've made yourself perfectly clear Dean." I said, taking my bag from him and walking quickly after Sam.

"Oh come on!" Dean called after me. "Come on, Beth, I didn't mean it." But I was shaking my head and jogging to catch up with Sam. It was high time that we all admitted that none of us were dealing with Dad's death, but it wasn't going to be me to open that can of worms.

* * *

I was walking sullenly along the road an hour later, staring at the line of windmills in the field next to us, something about the way they swished in unison to the wind was comforting. Dean had rejoined us while Sam was on the phone, but I didn't have anything I wanted to say. Better to leave him be for now and talk about it later, which I knew we would, we never stayed angry at one another for long.

Sam hung up from being on the phone with Ellen, turning to look at Dean. "Rakshasa," he said simply.

"What's that?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"Ellen's best guess. It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures, they appear in human form, they feed on human flesh, they can make themselves invisible, and they cannot enter a home without first being invited in." Sam informed us.

"So they dress up like clowns, and the children invite them in." I said, frowning. It was a good ploy.

"Yeah," Sam said nodding.

"Why don't they just munch on the kids?" Dean asked looking puzzled.

"No idea." Sam said. "Not enough meat on the bones, maybe?"

"What else did you find out?" Dean asked.

"Well, apparently, Rakshasas live in squalor. They sleep on a bed of dead insects."

I grimaced. "Nice..." After our little trip to Oasis Plains, bugs weren't really that high up on my favourites list. By Dean's expression, I could see he was thinking the same thing.

"Yeah, and they have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years. Slow metabolism, I guess." Sam finished.

"Well, that makes sense. I mean, the Carnival today, the Bunker Brothers in '81." I said, nodding.

"Right. Probably more before that." Sam agreed.

"Hey, who do we know that worked both shows?" Dean asked, looking at me and then Sam.

"Cooper?" I asked, shrugging.

"Cooper." Dean nodded.

"You know, that picture of his father, it looked just like him," I mused. He might be on to something.

"You think maybe it was him?" Sam asked me.

"Well who knows how old he is?" I asked, shrugging. It was always a possibility.

"Ellen say how to kill him?" Dean asked, thinking ahead.

"Legend goes, a dagger made of pure brass." Sam said. Dean inclined his head, thinking.

"I think I know where to get one of those." He said thoughtfully.

"Well, before we go stabbing things into Cooper, we're going to want to make damn sure it's him." Sam said.

"Oh you're suck a stickler for details, Sammy. All right, I'll round up the blade, you two check if Cooper's got bedbugs." Dean said.

When I didn't say much of anything in response to that Dean crossed over to me, gently taking my arm and pulling me to a stop. He nodded at Sam to keep walking, who threw us a confused look but kept going just the same.

"What do you want Dean?" I asked, turning hurt eyes to him.

"I'm sorry." He said, looking down at me, his eyes held genuine remorse for snapping at me earlier.

I sighed. "Dean, you know I'm gonna let you do your thing, we all have to handle Dad's death in any way that works. I haven't pushed you, I've let you be. But that was totally uncalled for before." He was nodding.

"Yeah I know, it's just..." He sighed. "I don't know Beth. I have to be strong, Dad would want me to. For you and for Sam." His eyes were sad, vulnerable. I reached to lay a hand against the side of his face.

"I thought we were over this macho crap, you know you can talk to me." He nodded. "Dean, I'm here, I'm always here."

"You nearly weren't." He said softly, looking at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"That crash Beth, you nearly didn't make it... I don't even know how you did from what Sam told me. I don't even want to think about it, what could have happened." He looked away, troubled.

I sighed, dropping my bag on the ground and stepping in to put my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest. He returned the hug, squeezing me tight.

"I know," I said. "I know what you mean." I'd felt exactly the same way. This was the first we'd even mentioned it in over a week.

Sam was looking at us having stopped about thirty yards up the road. I pulled back and looked at Dean, time to get on with the job. Now that was something Dad would have wanted us all to do. Head in the game, not on our emotions.

"Come on," I said with a smile and he nodded. I picked up my bag and then I felt his hand take the straps from me once more, hoisting it on to his shoulder. He smiled, and put the same arm around me, pulling me in beside him. I slid my arm around his waist and we walked like this, comfortable, together as we went to catch up to Sam. For a moment, things actually felt ok.

* * *

**Carnival**

We waited until nightfall, when all the people had gone home. Sam and I were at Cooper's trailer, I was picking the lock while he stood watch. It was an easy lock and opened without any issue. We slipped in and looked about, the trailer looked empty. Sam pulled out a pocket knife and went over to the bed, pulling up the sheet on the bed to get at the mattress.

I heard a shotgun cock behind me and froze. Sam looked up, alarmed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Cooper asked us, looking over at Sam who was now kneeling on the floor.

_Oh shit._

We had to think fast. I turned and threw myself into Sam's arms, kissing his neck then looking back at little guiltily at Cooper.

"Ohh, sorry... we must have the wrong trailer.." I said sheepishly and Sam gaped at me.

"Get out of here!" Cooper said shaking his head and we didn't have to be asked twice.

We were hurrying back toward where we'd left Dean when he came racing past us at a dead on run.

"Dean!" I called out and he skidded to a stop, spinning to look at us.

"Hey..." He said a little out of breath.

Sam and I walked up to him. "So, Cooper thinks we're misguided lovers, but it's not him." I said. Dean circled back past us looking around anxiously.

"Yeah, so I gathered. It's the blind guy, he just vanished in front of me and started chucking knives at my head... he's here somewhere." He said, spinning around and looking.

"So did you get the..." Sam started to ask.

"The brass blades?" Dean interrupted, shaking his head. "No, it's been one of those days."

He stopped for a second and looked back at me wide-eyed, "Wait... misguided lovers?" I shrugged and he frowned at me. Sam ignored him.

"I got an idea." Sam said, leading us toward the fun house. I hesitated just slightly before we went inside, and Dean looked at me.

"I really don't like fun houses." I muttered and he chuckled. Sam seemed to know where he was going so we followed his lead.

I was following Sam when a door slammed behind me, separating us from Dean.

"Beth!" Dean yelled.

"Dean!" I yelled, shouldering the door. I heard him pounding from the other side, but it wouldn't budge.

"Dean, find the maze ok?" Sam instructed, grabbing me by the arm and pulling me down the passage. We wandered down the iridescent passageways looking for the creature. Sam spotted a pipe organ at the end of one of the sections and went up to it. Almost a brass dagger.

I hesitated looking at the steam. Sam reached out to grab one of the pipes, flinching at contact from the heat. He took a cloth out of his pocket and started pulling at the pipe.

Dean rounded the corner and walked up to us. "Hey," he said looking at us a little relieved.

"Hey, where is it?" I asked, glancing back at him.

"I don't know, I mean, shouldn't we see it's clothes walking around?" Dean asked, turning to look behind him.

"Look out!" He yelled suddenly, pushing me back against the wall as a knife went flying past. It caught his jacket sleeve and pinned him to the wall, another knife landed seconds later, pinning his wrist.

"Dean!" I yelled, running over to him and trying to pull one of the knives out, it was stuck, rammed half way to the hilt. I looked at Dean a little panicked.

"Sam!" Dean called out and I looked over to see him pull the pipe all the way off the organ and move forward. A knife flew past his head, but he dodged it.

"Beth where is it?" Sam yelled at me, I looked around, still struggling with the knife at Dean's wrist.

"I don't know!" I called back. Dean looked up and pulled at a lever above our heads, more steam poured from the pipe organ coming into the little area we were in. A vague shape formed in the steam, Dean's eyes widened.

"Sam, behind you! Behind you!" He yelled as I grunted and put all my weight into the knife, managing to pull it free.

Sam reacted instantly and thrust the brass pipe organ behind him, ramming it into the Rakshasa, hitting home.

Dean pushed on the knife under his arm and together we got it free. I turned to see the invisible creature with the pipe still embedded in its stomach, blood pouring from the wound. I pulled on the lever again to shut off the steam, the creature had fallen and when the steam cleared there was only empty clothes and a bloody pipe to attest it had ever been there.

"God I hate fun houses!" I muttered, taking a deep breath and looking for the exit.

* * *

**Harvelle Roadhouse  
**_**The Next Day**_**  
**

The boys were sitting at the bar at the Roadhouse looking a little bedraggled for the lack of sleep, but we were safe and no one was throwing knives at us, so all in all, it had been a good day so far. Ellen put a couple of beers down in front of them, I watched it all from over by the jukebox, flipping through the playlist.

"You kids did a hell of a job. Your dad would be proud." Ellen said with a smile.

"Thanks," Sam said, smiling back.

Jo was sitting next to Dean and I watched as she gave Sam a not so subtle look to get lost. Dean looked a little amused and took a long swig of his beer, staring ahead of him.

"Hey Beth, so... anything good on that thing?" Sam asked, turning to walk over to me throwing me a wary look. I grinned and shrugged, letting him know I'd seen the look, he shook his head, not so amused. He was a little over protective like that.

"So...," Jo said, clearing her throat.

"So." Dean said with a nod.

"Am I gonna see you again?" Jo asked, looking at Dean side-on.

"Do you want to?" Dean asked and Sam threw me a confused look.

"I wouldn't hate it." Jo answered with a little smile. Dean nodded, looking down at his beer. I noticed Ellen's ears had perked up at the conversation, she was wiping down the counter behind her, but she was listening more than she was working.

"Hmmm. Can I be honest with you?" Dean said, looking at Jo. "See, a few years ago, I'd be hitting on you so fast it'd make your head spin. But, uh, these days..." He looked over at me, and I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm kind of involved," he smiled at me and I returned the smile, looking over at Sam with a raised eyebrow. Sam grinned and stopped looking so worried for my sake. Jo didn't miss the look.

"You two...?" Jo said, inclining her head toward me.

Dean nodded, taking another swig of his beer. Jo threw a confused look between the pair of us.

"Uhh.. ok, that's a... weird family dynamic you got goin' on there," she said, shaking her head, sitting back on her stool.

"She's not his sister." Ellen said, turning toward the bar.

Jo paused. "I thought you said John was your Dad?" She looked at me.

"He is," I said quietly, walking around to join Ellen on the other side of the bar. I was going to need something harder to drink, and by the looks of it, so did Dean.

"Adopted," Ellen said, looking at me. "When she was a teenager," she explained to Jo.

I looked at Ellen, uncapping the tequila bottle I'd helped myself to under the bar. I poured a couple of shots and tossed a questioning look at Dean.

I lifted the shot glass to my lips and downed the whole thing, grimacing at the taste. "It seems you know an awful lot about me," I said, turning to Ellen, "when I still don't know a thing about you."

Dean had a curious expression on his face. He hadn't missed the reference to my past either. Ellen hesitated and then glanced at me.

"Yeah well, it's a small world, I know a lot of things about a lot of people," she said.

"Bull," Dean said, looking at her. "How do you know about Beth?"

She stared at him a moment before dropping her eyes. When she looked up there was a nostalgic look to her.

"There was a time we didn't live here in Nebraska. Long before Jo was born, we were just married and we lived up in Chippewa Falls." She paused, looking down and taking a deep breath before continuing her story.

"One day Bill came across a possessed girl, didn't know what to do, and a preacher man helped him out." Ellen looked at me, "That was your dad, they'd met in the marine corps."

"Go on." Dean said, reaching for the tequila I'd put in front of him.

"Patrick taught him everything he knew about demons and how to deal with them, they became close friends, even considered him family," Ellen paused, looking over at Dean. "Heck, he was the one who introduced us to your daddy." I blinked back tears.

"Wait, so Beth's dad got your husband into the business?" Sam asked.

Ellen nodded, looking over at me.

"I would have had you come here Beth, after your Dad passed, I owed him that much. But you'd already been with John and the boys six months by the time I found out. I told him to bring you here, John wouldn't hear of it, said I had my hands full being a widow with a young daughter." She looked at me appraisingly. "Said you'd be better off with them, as much as I argued."

I looked at Dean and he looked surprised, we'd never heard any of this.

"Well..." I said with a shrug. "I'm sure he had his reasons." I didn't know what to say to any of that.

"Yeah well, Dad made the right decision," Dean said out of the blue, looking at me. I smiled at him and Ellen just cocked her head with a thoughtful expression. He turned to Jo with a grin. "Hell that practically makes you my sister!" I frowned, I didn't know how he arrived at that conclusion, but he seemed happy with it.

Jo scoffed and turned to look at me with fresh eyes. I put another shot in front of Dean and his hand brushed mine as I pulled it back, his eyes looked on with affection and I smiled, blushing a little with the minor touch. He still made me feel like I was sixteen years old with those little gestures.

The moment was broken by the back door opening and Ash sashaying through it carrying our brown folder of research and a bizarre looking laptop.

"Where you guys been? Been waitin' for ya." He asked, looking at us all around the bar.

"We were working a job, Ash." Sam said. "Clowns?"

"Clowns?" Ash said shaking his head and reeling back, "What the f-?"

"You got something for us Ash?" Dean interrupted.

Ash set the laptop down on the table, I gave it a curious look, it was almost like he'd hooked it all up himself, there were exposed wires all over the place due to no outer casing. It was the most bizarre thing I'd seen in a while – and I saw a lot of weird stuff.

"Did you find the demon?" I asked, coming to take a closer look.

"It's nowhere around," Ash answered. "At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises his head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like Divine on dog dookie." I raised my eyebrow... like divine on what?

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, frowning.

"I mean," He said, turning the laptop toward Dean and Sam. "Any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world, my rig'll go off. Like a fire alarm." Dean was staring at the laptop wide-eyed, he reached out to touch.

"Do you mind...?" Ash gave him a death-stare and Dean paused, withdrawing his hand with a little smile.

"Hey what's up man..." Ash said sternly to him, acting all macho.

"Ash, where did you learn to do all this?" Sam asked, he was staring at the computer, stunned and impressed.

"M.I.T. Before I got bounced for... fighting." Ash said with an odd look.

"M.I.T?" Sam asked, sceptical.

"It's a school in Boston." Ash said condescendingly.

"Ok." Dean said with a nod, sitting back on his stool. "You give us a call as soon as you know something?"

"Si, si, compadre." Ash said with a nod.

Dean took another swig of his beer and set it down, getting up to leave. Ash picked the discarded bottle up and took a drink, obviously not worried about cooties.

We all stood to leave, looking around us at Ellen and Jo.

"Hey listen, if you kids need a place to stay, I've got a couple of beds out back." Ellen offered.

Dean glanced at us and then back at Ellen. "Thanks, but no. There's something I gotta finish." He said before turning to us and heading out the door.

* * *

**Bobby's Place  
**_**Sioux Falls – A few days later.**_**  
**

Dean and I were out at the car again. Dean was unscrewing the bolts on the wheel to change the tire, and I was picking through nuts and bolts, sorting them into sizes. Sam paced nearby.

"You were right," Sam said, looking uncomfortable and hovering at the end of the Impala. Dean stood up and circled around him looking for a tool.

"About what?" Dean asked.

"About me and Dad," Sam said as Dean started tossing bits of scrap into a pile nearby. "I'm sorry that the last time I was with him I tried to pick a fight. I'm sorry that I spent most of my life angry at him. I mean, for all I know he died thinking that I hate him. So you're right. What I'm doing right now, it's too little. It's too late." Sam's eyes were full of tears and he was clearly struggling, like we all were.

Dean looked at Sam, they stared at each other for a moment.

"I miss him, man." Sam whispered. "And I feel guilty as hell. And I'm not all right. Not at all." Sam confessed, looking down and taking a shaky breath, fighting off the tears in his eyes.

"But neither are you guys. That much I know." Sam said looking over at me as much as he did at Dean. He sighed. "I'll let you get back to work." I bit my lip and looked away, Dean continued to look at Sam, silent, unmoving.

Sam headed back to the house and I watched him go in silence. Dean was still staring at Sam's back, who knows what he was thinking. When Sam was out of sight he picked up a crowbar and swung it at the car nearest him, smashing out the window. I jumped, startled and not expecting that.

He then turned and started slamming it into the trunk of the Impala, over and over and over creating a massive dent clear through the metal. I froze, unsure of what I should be doing, unsure of whether I should even be here. Eventually Dean's swings slowed, and stopped altogether, the crowbar clattering to the ground as he leaned on the trunk, breathing heavily, his posture defeated. He staggered back from the trunk, glaring at the car, and struggling to contain his feelings.

I took a few steps away, intending to leave him be, he hadn't even looked at me, possibly had forgotten I was even there. Once I moved he looked up at me, turning to throw an agonised look at me. "No..." He whispered, crossing to me and shaking his head. "No, don't go." He wrapped his arms around me and I pulled him close, holding him silently. "Don't go," he whispered again and I nodded against his chest. We just stood there, in the heat of the day, sun shining down on us, yet everything felt grey and dull, I wondered whether we'd ever feel happy again.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Next up – vampires! :D Hope you enjoyed the story, please drop me a review if you did and let me know what you like most about it! They always make my day :D

* * *

The song for this chapter is: _Give me a sign _by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

Trivia: Beth is reading Janet Evanovich's _Stephanie Plum _series – my favourite book series, full on funny – so just a little shout out to that! If reading the most recent release, Beth would have been reading _Two for the Dough, _book 2 in a series that is currently 19 books long and still going strong!


	4. Bloodlust

_We see the sorrow and the pain  
We tried our best to save the world  
But everyday is still the same  
All the violence all the blood and every tear  
Fill your minds more and more with hate and fear  
We fight against everything and everyone  
With every war we tried to make our kingdom come  
Everyday we lose ourselves more and more  
But still we pray for someone to save our souls._

* * *

**BLOODLUST**

* * *

There was AC/DC in the cassette player – _Back In Black _to be exact, which was fitting, a bright sunny day outside, and the two most important men to me in the world in the front seat. Today was a good day.

"Whoo!" Dean exclaimed as he rocketed the newly restored Impala down the small 2-lane highway passing green fields and wood. "Listen to her purr! Have you ever heard anything so sweet?" He was grinning from ear to ear.

I smiled to myself in the back seat, pleased to see him happy for a change. It had been a really hard month on all of us, but it felt like maybe we were starting to come out of the shadow, just a little bit. Having the Impala back helped to restore a little normality to our lives, it felt good.

"You know, if you two want to get a room, just let us know, Dean." I said with a smirk from the back seat.

"Oh don't listen to her, baby," Dean said to the car. "They doesn't understand us."

Sam chuckled and shook his head. "You're in a good mood!" He said. Dean was smiling, actually smiling and looking happy. I had to agree with Sam.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Dean asked, looking over at him with a frown.

"No reason." Sam said with a shrug.

Dean looked in the mirror at me, and I threw him a smile. "Got my car, got my girl, got a case – things are looking up." Dean said with a smile.

"Wow..." Sam said. "You hear of a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows, and you're Mister Sunshine." I chuckled at that, he certainly was in a good mood.

Dean chuckled. "How far to Red Lodge?" He asked, looking at me in the mirror.

I glanced down at the map and made a quick estimate. "Uh, about another three hundred miles." I said, looking up at him.

He smiled. "Good." And then floored the Impala, rocketing us down the road.

* * *

**Red Lodge, Montana  
**_**Sheriff's Office**_**  
**

We were posing as reporters, hoping to get some more information out of the Sheriff. The case was kind of a big note so we didn't think our usual FBI cover would work considering chances were they were already hanging around.

The Sheriff had an impressive looking moustache and sat behind his desk, looking organised and calm while he spoke to us.

"The murder investigation is ongoing, and that's all I can share with the press at this time," he said to us, looking a little impatient.

"Sure, sure, we understand that, but just for the record, you found the first, uh, head last week, correct?" Sam said, sitting there with his paper and pen.

"Mm-hmm," the Sheriff nodded.

"OK, and the other, Christina Flanigan..." Sam trailed off, prompting for information.

"That was two days ago. Is there..." We were interrupted by a young woman knocking at the door, pointing at her watch. "Oh, sorry, time's up, we're done here."

"One last question..." Sam asked, looking at the Sheriff.

"Yeah, what about the cattle?" Dean asked, impatiently.

"Excuse me?" The Sheriff asked, looking at Dean.

"You know, the cows found dead, split open, drained... over a dozen cases." Dean elaborated.

"What about them?" The Sheriff asked, looking confused.

"You don't think there's a connection?" I asked, looking up from my notes.

"Connection... with..." The Sheriff was clearly not following our line of questioning.

"First cattle mutilations, now two murders? Kind of sounds like ritual stuff," I pointed out to him.

"You know, like _satanic cult_ ritual stuff." Dean said, looking at the Sheriff.

The Sheriff laughed, looking at us all, and then, seeing our faces he fell silent. "You – you're not kidding?"

"No." Dean said, serious.

"Those cows aren't being mutilated. You wanna know how I know?" The Sheriff asked.

"How?" Sam asked, curious.

"Because there's no such thing as cattle mutilation. Cow drops, leave it in the sun, within forty eight hours the bloat will split it open so clean it's just about surgical. The body fluids fall down into the ground and get soaked up because that's what gravity does. But, hey, it could be Satan. What newspaper did you say you work for?"

"World Weekly News," Dean said.

"Weekly World News," I corrected Dean with a raised eyebrow.

"World..." Dean started again.

"Weekly World..." Sam interrupted.

"Weekly... I'm new." Dean shrugged, looking apologetic.

"Get out of my office." The Sheriff said pointedly.

We walked back to the car, Dean going over the newspaper name aloud a few more times.

"World Weekly News... World _Weekly News. _Wait. Weekly World News?" He said, looking at me puzzled. I shook my head and patted him on the back.

"Don't worry about it Clark Kent, it's not like we're actually going to be submitting something to be published, and I smiled, skipping back to the car.

"Where to next?" I asked, leaning against the new finish on the Impala.

"Time to check out the morgue." Dean said with a grin and I nodded. It was good to be back on the job.

* * *

**Hospital  
**_**Morgue**_**  
**

We helped ourselves to a few lab coats on the way down to the morgue, pulling them on over our regular clothing – making us look a little more professional. I pulled my hair up in to a ponytail as I led the way into the morgue. There was an intern on duty, I noticed it read J. Manners. I looked at it, calculating what his name might be, and went with the most obvious.

"John," I smiled at him.

"Jeff," he corrected, but he still gave me a smile.

I leaned forward on the desk with another smile. "Jeff, right, I know that. Look, Dr. Dworkin needs to see you in his office right away." I said, tilting my head to the side.

"But Dr Dworkin's on vacation." Jeff replied, looking confused.

"Well, he's back," Dean said from behind me. "And he's pissed, and he's screaming for you man, so if I were you I would..." Jeff was already running out the door by the time Dean got half his sentence out.

"OK then!" I said, flipping my hair behind me. "Those Satanists in Florida, they marked their victims, didn't they?" I asked handing the boys some latex gloves and heading for the refrigerated drawers against the far wall.

"Yeah, reversed pentacle on the forehead." Sam replied.

"Yeah. So much f—d up crap happens in Florida," Dean muttered, slipping his hands into the gloves.

Sam pointed to the refrigerated compartment containing the first victim and I opened it, wheeling out the corpse. I looked curiously at the box between the victims legs, somehow I thought this might be where we would find the head of the victim. I grimaced.

"All right, open it," Dean said to me and I stared at him.

"You open it." I said with a raised eyebrow. Sam rolled his eyes at the pair of us.

"Wuss." Dean teased me, carrying the box over to another table and flipping off the lid with a grimace. I walked over with Sam and screwed up my nose.

"Well, no pentagram." Dean announced, looking inside the box.

"Wow, poor girl." I said, looking at the head.

"Maybe we should, uh, you know, look in her mouth, see if those wackos stuffed anything down her throat. You know, kinda like the moth in _Silence of the Lambs_." Dean was looking at me with a twinkle in his eyes, waiting to see how far he could push me before I decided it was time to go throw up my lunch.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead Dean," I said with a smile, sliding the box toward him.

"No, you go ahead." He said with a raised eyebrow, pushing the box back at me.

"Well someone go ahead." Sam said with a shake of his head.

"'Put the lotion in the basket'" Dean said to me, and I wrinkled my nose.

"I hated that movie," I said with a frown. Dean just smiled.

"Right, yeah, I'm the wuss, huh? Whatever." I looked down at the head staring up at me and grimaced. I poked my fingers into her mouth and felt around, looking at Sam who was looking a little green around the gills.

"Hey Sam, get me a bucket?" I asked, looking over at him.

"You find something?" Dean asked, curious.

"Nope, I'm gonna puke." I said with a scrunched up nose. I pulled my fingers out and shook my head, nothing.

"Wait, lift the lip up again?" Dean asked, looking down at the head.

"What? You want me to throw up, is that it?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, no, no I think I saw something," he said, looking closer. He pulled back the lip, inspecting it a bit more thoroughly. "What is that, a hole?" He muttered, I was curious, my vomit reflex now gone as we looked into the box.

I pressed down on the gum where he'd indicated and a narrow, sharp tooth descended out of the gum.

"It's a tooth." Sam said, looking over at us.

"Sam, that's a fang. Retractable set of vampire fangs, you've got to be kidding." I said, frowning.

"Well this changes things." Sam said with a stunned look.

"Ya think?" Dean asked with a sarcastic look.

* * *

**Motel Room**

We decided to wait until dark to go check out one of the local bars for information, that way there'd be more of a chance of talking to someone who might have actually come across the vampires.

Until then we had time to kill. I picked up one of the machetes off the bed and testing the weight in my hand, doing a couple of forward swings.

Dean raised an eyebrow at me, and got up from his position on the other bed. Grabbing the other machete he nodded and indicated I should follow him out the rear door of the room, where there was a bit of a courtyard. No one was around, so we had the space to ourselves.

"You been practising?" He asked with a grin starting to circle around me as I stood in one place, watching him. I rotated my neck a bit to loosen up my neck muscles and shrugged my shoulders a little. My hair was pulled back in a ponytail out of my face, and I was wearing simple black leggings, blue tank top, and boots that were soft and flexible, great for sparring.

"What do you think?" I asked, looking at him with narrowed eyes, trying to keep from laughing at his ridiculous eye of the tiger thing he had going on. I willed myself to centre a bit, focus on my breathing, the feel of the weapon in my hand, and my awareness of where Dean was in the courtyard.

He knew damn well that I hadn't been, for the simple fact that it was generally him who I sparred with. Up until recently, machetes and beheading hadn't really been something we considered a priority – we hadn't even known vampires existed until last month, and we'd kind of been busy hunting demons since then.

Dean was cocky though, he was a far more superior fighter than me, and he knew it, but that didn't mean I didn't have skills of my own. Suddenly Dean lunged at me from behind, swinging his machete down at my shoulder, I spun, raising mine up to counter, the blades meeting as I pivoted on my right foot and kicked out with my left, pushing him back from me with a grunt.

We separated, both circling and facing each other, he'd dropped the smile, getting into the sparring mood. "We playing for keeps this time?" He asked, which was his way of saying, does anything go, or are we just mucking around. I nodded silently, eyes staring at him and he smirked. "Well all right then."

He swung wide at me a couple of times, and I blocked each time, forcing him back into a defensive stance. A few forward swings from me and he dodged them, parrying one that got a little too close to his stomach for comfort.

I stared into those hazel eyes and feinted left before swinging to the right, smacking the flat of my blade against his ass as he turned slightly in the wrong direction to counter my first move. He scowled and whistled at me in appreciation. "Fast..." he commented, and I grinned at him.

He swung at me in three swift motions, I blocked two but found myself pushed up against the wall of the motel, blade to my throat, breathing hard with the third attack. I dropped my machete, looking him in the eyes. "But not fast enough." He breathed in my ear, face pressed alongside mine. I turned my lips to his cheek and kissed him quickly before bringing my knee up in a crushing blow to his groin.

Dean doubled over, groaning and with both hands now free, I grabbed his arm, swinging him around and using the momentum of his body to flip him on his back with a thud. He dropped his machete with a clatter against the stones and let out a breath, winded. I straddled him, pinning him to the courtyard pavement, hands holding down his as I leaned over him.

He laid back on the ground and groaned a little before raising his eyes to look at me. "You're holding back," I said to him, a little disappointed. I never won unless he did, but we both knew that wasn't the point. In the real world, the creatures didn't hold back, and I needed to be able to hold my own. He frowned and then pushed me off him, both of us rising to our feet.

Dean went to pick up our machetes, tossing one to me so that the handle was pointing down. We'd practised this a lot, never knew when you might need to get each other a blade quickly, it was one thing we had mastered. I caught the machete deftly with my right hand and swung it in the air in front of me.

I lunged and went on the attack, Dean easily blocking all my moves. It was a flurry of sweat, kicks, and blades for a good few continuous minutes while I tested out the feel of my body with the machete. Finally, we grew tired and pulled apart. Dean was grimacing, I started to wonder if I'd hurt him when I kneed him, and I hesitated, stepping forward to check on him.

I dropped my guard, lowering the machete to walk over to him, a worried look on my face. He cried out victoriously and disarmed me, quickly bringing both machetes up to either side of my neck. I froze and frowned at him. Dean stared at me without any amusement in his eyes. "Never...let...your...guard...down." He said humourlessly. "Not even to me – I could be a shapeshifter, or a demon wearing my meat suit, you don't know." I gulped and nodded, he was right. "Are we done?" He asked, again I nodded.

He dropped the machetes and smiled at me. "You did good," he praised me and I smiled hesitantly. He pulled me into a headlock and kissed the top of my head. I leaned in to him and closed my eyes. "Man, did you have to knee me in the gonads though? I was hoping to use them tonight!" He chuckled and I laughed.

"Hmmm, well maybe I'll have to kiss them better for you," I said suggestively and skipped ahead of him to the door into our room.

Dean groaned and shook his head, "You're a tease!"

I raised an eyebrow, "I learn from the best," I winked, and headed for the shower, stripping as I went to give him a bit of a show.

"Oh man, she's trouble," Dean said looking at Sam who was giving us an amused stare as I wandered past in pants and bra. "She's trouble!" He chased me into the bathroom with a laugh.

* * *

**Local Bar**

Dean slung his arm around my shoulder as we entered the bar and nodded at the dartboard. "Hmmm, maybe we got time for a game or two?" He said with a smile. I inclined my head at him, liking this return to old Dean.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, nodding. Sam shook his head and walked ahead of us to the bar, taking a seat.

"How's it going?" Sam asked, nodding to the bartender.

I was pulling the darts out of the board, preparing for a little practice. It was near enough to the bar that I could follow the conversation, Sam could handle it.

"Living the dream. What can I get for you?" The bartender asked him.

"Three beers, please." Dean answered, putting a twenty on the counter and looking over at me.

"So, we're looking for some people," Sam started, looking at the bartender who gave him a smirk.

"Sure. Hard to be lonely," he said and Sam frowned.

"Yeah. But um, that's not what I meant." He pulled a fifty dollar bill out of his wallet, smoothing it out, and then dropped it on the bar. The bartender took it, stuffing it in his pocket giving Sam a questioning look.

"Right." Sam said with a nod. "So these, these people, they would have moved here about six months ago, probably pretty rowdy, like to drink..."

"Yeah, real night owls, you know? Sleep all day, party all night." Dean added, taking a drink out of his beer and wandering over to hand me mine. I'd finished my shots and was looking at the results happily. Bobby had a dart board at the house, my game was back.

The bartender gave us all an intrigued look before answering. "Barker Farm got leased out a couple months ago. Real winners. They've been in here a lot – drinkers. Noisy. I've had to 86 them once or twice."

"Thanks," Dean said with a nod and took his turn with the darts. His score was still better than mine and I frowned.

Sam cleared his throat, stepping away from his half-finished beer and gave us a look, inclining his head to the door.

"Awww, really Sammy?" I complained, taking a swig of my own beer. He sighed, Dean and I exchanged a resigned look and left our beers on the table nearby. He was such a stick in the mud sometimes. We left the bar. I headed for the Impala which was parked in the lot out back, leading us down the dark alley toward the steps.

I reached the car ahead of the boys, they'd slowed down for some reason and I was suddenly very alert. Dean gestured for me to get down so I ducked behind the Impala, watching from my hiding place. The boys ducked behind another car and we watched as a man can stalking around the corner, looking around.

He was African-American with a super short hair cut, moustache, goatee, and deep dark eyes that were a little chilling. There was nothing particularly remarkable about him, but that didn't mean he wasn't dangerous, in fact the whole stance he had screamed killer. He had lost our trail when we ducked behind the cars, and for a moment he hesitated, looking back the way he'd come – that was when Dean and Sam jumped the railing near him and pinned him to the wall, Dean with a knife at his throat. I hurried over to them, standing against the railing looking down at them in the alley.

"Smile." Dean said, pressing the blade against the man's throat.

"What?" The man asked, looking confused.

"Show us those pearly whites." Dean instructed without any humour.

The man rolled his eyes. "Oh, for the love of – you want to stick that thing some place else? I'm not a vampire." I frowned at this statement, what did this guy know about vampires? "Yeah, that's right, I heard you guys in there," the man continued. Dean and Sam exchanged a look before turning back to him.

"What do you know about vampires?" Sam asked, still pinning the guy's shoulder to the wall.

The man gave the both an appraising look. "How to kill them," he stated, deadpan. He gave Dean a steely look. "Now seriously, bro. That knife's making me itch."

Dean cocked his head, but didn't move. The man started to pull away toward Sam, and Sam slammed his shoulder back against the wall, having none of it.

"Whoa. Easy there, chachi," the guy said to Sam, turning those eyes on him. He raised his hand up in an open gesture and moved it slowly to his mouth. He pulled back his lip, revealing normal gums to us.

"See? Fangless. Happy?" He asked and Dean stepped back, bringing down the knife.

"Now." He said, looking at the three of us. "Who the hell are you?"

* * *

We learned that his name was Gordon Walker, also a hunter, obviously. He was showing us his arsenal, tucked away in a hidden compartment of his red El Camino.

"Sam and Dean Winchester. I can't believe it. You know I met your old man once? Hell of a guy. Great hunter." He said and I exchanged a look with Sam who shrugged. Gordon's eyes showed a moment of emotion and he looked at Dean. "I heard he passed." Dean nodded. "I'm sorry. It's big shoes. But from what I hear, you guys fill 'em. Great trackers, good in a tight spot..."

"You seem to know a lot about our family." Dean interrupted, poker face on.

"Word travels fast. You know how hunters talk." Gordon said.

"No, we don't, actually." I said, crossing my arms and giving him an appraising look.

"I guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?" Gordon said, looking at Dean, whose jaw was set – he was giving nothing away.

"So, um, so those two vampires, they were yours, huh?" Sam asked, changing the subject.

"Yep. Been here two weeks." Gordon said.

"Did you check out that Barker farm?" Dean asked.

"It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill you with that patchouli smell alone." He smirked.

"Where's the nest then?" I asked, leaning back against the car nearest me.

"I've got this one covered." Gordon said dismissively. "Look, don't get me wrong. It's a real pleasure meetin' you guys. But I've been on this thing over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."

"We could help," Dean offered, fidgeting a little.

"Thanks, but uh, I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy." Gordon said, looking at him.

"Come on man, I've been itching for a hunt." Dean coaxed, wanting to get in on the action.

"Sorry. But hey, I hear there's a Chupacabra two states over. Go ahead and knock yourselves out." He got into his car without any fanfare, peering back through the open window at us with a smile. "It was real good meeting you though. I'll buy you a drink on the flip side." He started up his car and drove away.

Dean moved back to the Impala, getting in and slamming the door. Sam and I joined him. "What now?" I asked. He turned to look at me with a grin.

"Now we follow him," he said. I sat back in my seat with a sigh and caught Sam shaking his head. Dean was going to hunt something if it killed him, best just get out of the way and let him go.

* * *

**Timber Mill**

We'd followed Gordon to a local timber mill. It looked old and run down – but it was in use, just closed for the night, all the workers were home with their non-working lives and no one seemed to be around. We all exited the car and headed toward the entrance Gordon had taken.

There was the sounds of a fight when we entered the mill, and we were instantly alert. An electric saw whirred and we rounded a corner, seeing Gordon pinned to a conveyor belt, saw running above him. A vampire was landing blow after blow at Gordon's head. We broke into a run. The vampire started to lower the saw intending to take off the other hunter's head.

Sam got to Gordon first and grabbed his feet, pulling him away from the blade.

The vampire reared up, fangs fully extended, and growled at us. Dean hit him a few times, causing him to fall back under the saw. I grabbed a scary looking hook spear off the wall and swung it around, bringing it down into the vampire's chest with a sickening blow, it went right into his chest and the vampire yelled in pain.

Dean punched the creature a few more times for good measure and then lowered the saw to his neck. Bringing it down slowly, I watched, breathlessly as the saw took off the vampire's head, flinching as a spray of blood caught both Dean and I in the face. Dean shut off the saw, looking down at the now dead vampire. I felt a sense of accomplishment, it was strangely good to be back in the hunt, but my stomach turned a little sick suddenly, looking at the decapitated head, I grimaced, this job had a way of bringing out the worst in you.

Gordon was watching us with a pleased smile, Sam was staring at us with a stunned expression, it occurred to me that he might not have seen Dean and I fighting side by side much since he'd gone away to school.

"So uh, I guess I gotta buy you that drink." Gordon said with a smile. Sam threw him a disturbed look before turning back to us. Dean stared silently at Sam, his expression a little empty, I frowned and wondered if this hunt really had been the best thing for us after all.

* * *

**Local Bar**

We were back at the bar, sitting around a little table, well into our second round of drinks. A waitress brought over a round of shots and put them on the table. Dean reached for his wallet and Gordon held out his hand.

"No, no, I got it." Gordon said with a smile.

"Come on." Dean said, shaking his head.

"I insist," Gordon said and handed a few bills to the waitress. "Thank you sweetie." I nursed my beer, sitting back in my chair watching as Gordon raised his freshly filled shot glass.

"Another one bites the dust," Gordon said with a smile. Dean joined him with his own drink.

"That's right." Dean nodded, downing the ouzo in the shot glass.

I got up, downing my own shot in one go, and went to grab the darts out of the board next to us, I felt antsy and wanted to keep moving. Besides, Gordon was making me a little uncomfortable, I just couldn't put my finger on why. Maybe I could get Sam up to join me, he looked like he was having about as much fun as you'd have at a funeral, a sour expression on his face.

"Dean," Gordon said with a laugh, shaking his head. "You gave that big-ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend."

Dean smiled and nodded, taking the praise. "Thank you."

"That was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful." Gordon was in full on appreciation mode. I frowned and caught Sam's eye, he wasn't impressed.

"Yeah well... beautiful isn't exactly what I would call the state of my leather jacket right now," I said with a twinkle in my eye, looking at Dean with a grin. He grimaced.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said a little sheepishly before sticking his tongue out at me. "You all right, Sammy?" He turned to look at his brother who was still sitting quietly at the table.

"I'm fine." Sam said, clearly lying.

"Well, lighten up a little, Sammy," Gordon said, getting a stern look from Sam.

"They're the only ones who get to call me that." Sam said coldly, nodding at Dean and me.

"Ok." Gordon said with a shrug. "No offence meant. Just celebrating a little. Job well done." Dean was looking frustrated with Sam, and I bit my lip, wondering if I should intercede or not.

"Right. Well, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess." Sam said, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, come on, man, it's not like it was human. You've gotta have a little more fun with your job." Gordon said, clearly amused at Sam's mood.

"See? That's what I've been trying to tell him. You could learn a thing or two from this guy." Dean said with a smile, taking a drink of his beer. I paused, contemplating. I wasn't sure that Gordon was the one we should be learning from, something didn't check out with him in my gut, and I was usually a good judge of character.

Sam exchanged a frustrated look with me, I shrugged. "Yeah, I bet I could." Sam muttered. "Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down. I'm just gonna go back to the motel."

"Are you sure Sam?" I asked, looking at him concerned. Dean threw his hand in the air, frowning at me. Sam nodded at me, then looked at Dean.

"Yeah." He said. Sam moved to walk past me when Dean cleared his throat.

"Sammy? Remind me to beat that buzzkill out of you later, all right?" He said, tossing Sam the keys to the car.

Sam hesitated, looking at the keys then me.

"You coming Beth?" He asked me, a look clearly saying that he thought I was mad to stick around for the male bonding session.

I looked at Dean who sighed and gave me a disbelieving look.

"Nah, the night's still young Sammy," I said with a smile I didn't really feel, Dean threw me an approving look and Sam sighed, heading for the door. I looped my arm through his. "C'mon, I'll walk you out." I said cheerfully, Dean nodded at me.

Sam turned to me when we got to the car. "You can't seriously be celebrating in there Beth."

I looked at him, dropping the pretence now that we were alone. "I'm not Sam." I said seriously. "But this sour attitude isn't going to do a damn thing to keeping Dean on side with us. You saw that look in his eye. So... I'm going back in there with my best 'oh I just helped slaughter that vamp aren't I the coolest' attitude, and I'm going to keep my eye on things."

Sam looked at me curiously, this was a side he hadn't seen much of before. "So you're not sold on this Gordon guy?"

"Hell no, there's something seriously off about him. Now maybe it's just a hunter thing, not like we've spent much time around many of them." I paused and looked back at the bar. "Either way, I'm not leaving Dean alone with him."

Sam nodded and opened the car door. "Well, I'll see you back at the motel later," he said thoughtfully and I headed back to the bar.

* * *

Dean and Gordon were in full story exchange when I got back.

"...So. I pick up this crossbow. And I hit that ugly sucker with a silver-tipped arrow right in his heart. Sammy's waiting in the car, and uh, me and my dad take the thing into the woods, burn it to a crisp." Dean was saying and I paused to listen, standing behind him. "I'm sitting there and looking into the fire, and I'm thinking to myself, I'm sixteen years old. Most kids my age are worried about pimples, prom dates. I'm seeing things that they'll never even know. Never even dream of. So right then, I just sort of..."

"Embraced the life?" Gordon asked.

"Yeah," Dean said quietly.

"Yeah." Gordon said, looking up at me with an odd look, was it a challenge?

Dean realised I was back and turned with a smile. "Hey, there she is," he said, reaching back to grab my hand, pulling me into his lap with a grin which earned a curious look from Gordon. "How's Sammy?" He asked, eyes softening just a little, I was relieved to see it.

"Yeah he's fine, sulking like usual – you know Sam." I said, reaching out to take a drink of Dean's beer. Dean nodded knowingly at me.

"I hope it wasn't something I said?" Gordon said.

"No, no, he just gets that way sometimes." I said with a smile, dismissing the issue.

"Yeah." Dean said, looking over at Gordon. "So how'd you get started?" He asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and holding me as I got comfortable on his lap.

Gordon's face turned serious. "First time I saw a vampire I was barely eighteen. Home alone with my sister. I hear the window break in her room. I grab my dad's gun, run in, try to get it off her. Too late. So I shoot the damn thing. Which of course is about as useful as snapping it with a rubber band. It rushes me, picks me up, flings me across the room, knocks me out cold. When I wake up, the vampire's gone, my sister's gone."

"And then?" Dean asked.

"Then... try explaining that one to your family." Gordon said, and we both nodded. We understood that one. "So I left home. And then bummed around looking for information: how you track 'em, how you kill 'em. And I found that fang - it was my first kill."

"Sorry about your sister," I said quietly.

"Yeah. She was beautiful. I can still see her, you know? The way she was. But hey, that was a long time ago. I mean, your dad. It's gotta be rough.." Gordon said, changing the subject.

Dean shifted in his seat a bit and I decided to get up go for another beer, pulling some cash out of my pocket and heading up to the bar.

"Yeah. Yeah, you know." I heard Dean's voice faintly as I walked away. "He was just one of those guys. Took some terrible beatings, just kept coming. So you're always thinking to yourself, he's indestructible. He'll always be around, nothing can kill my dad. Then just like that ..." Dean snapped his fingers, "...he's gone." He paused, going quiet for a moment.

"I can't talk about this to Sammy, he's been all over me like a bad rash with the grief counselling. Besides, you know, I'm the oldest, I gotta keep my game face on." He cleared his throat. "But uh, the truth is I'm not handling it very well." Dean confessed and I tried to hide the surprise on my face as I overheard this conversation. Dean would know I could hear it, I wasn't more than a few yards away, maybe it was easier than saying it to my face right now, but clearly he wanted to bring it up. I turned a little to listen more. "I feel like I have this..."

"Hole inside you?" Gordon said, looking over at Dean. "And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker?" Dean nodded agreement to that. "Good." Gordon said, throwing an unreadable look at me. "You can use it. Keeps you hungry." He turned back to Dean. "Trust me. There's plenty out there needs killing, and this'll help you do it. Dean, it's not a crime to need your job."

I pondered this, something just not right about that, we had enough darkness in our lives, I wasn't sure that feeding it was a good thing, but then, I'd always preferred to err on the side of faith in something better than ourselves.

I stepped away toward the restrooms, pulling out my phone as I walked. When I was out of earshot I dialled Ellen, I wanted to get to the bottom of this Gordon Walker.

"_Harvelle's Roadhouse," _Ellen answered on the first couple of rings.

"Hey, Ellen, uh.. it's Beth O'Malley." I said.

"_Beth! It's good to hear from you. You kids are ok, aren't you?_" She asked in a friendly tone.

"Yeah. Yeah everything's fine. I just have a question." I answered.

"_Yeah, shoot." _Ellen said.

"Have you ever come across a guy named Gordon Walker?" I asked, looking back to make sure that Dean and Gordon were still safely out of earshot.

"_Yeah, I know Gordon," _Ellen answered.

"And?" I prompted.

"_Well, he's a real good hunter. Why are you asking, sweetie?" _Ellen questioned.

"Well, we ran into him on a job, and we're kind of working with him, I guess." I said.

"_Don't do that Beth," _Ellen said quickly and I frowned.

"I thought you said he was a good hunter?" I said, starting to feel a little worried, that knot in my stomach that I'd been feeling since we met Gordon was starting to do somersaults now.

"_Yeah, and Hannibal Lecter's a good psychiatrist. Look, he is dangerous to everyone and everything around him." _Ellen said. _"If he's working a job, you kids just let him handle it and you move on." _

"Ellen..." I muttered.

"_No, Beth? You just listen to what I'm telling you, ok?" _Ellen said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah ok. Thanks Ellen." I said, hanging up and looking back at Dean. How on earth was I going to approach him with this information about his newest hero?

* * *

Gordon was still harping on about hunting when I got back, I'd never heard someone talk so much about hunting, it was something we didn't really do as a family, we kind of avoided talking about it actually – it was just do the job, and when the job was done, let it go. I had a moment to realise that John had done it this way deliberately, to keep us sane, keep us wanting for something else other than a life like Gordon was talking about.

"Know why I love this life?" Gordon said, looking up as I sat down on the chair next to Dean.

"Hmm?" Dean asked, taking another sip of his beer.

"It's all black and white. There's no maybe. You find the bad thing, kill it." I gazed at him, curious. "See, most people spend their lives in shades of grey. Is this right? Is that wrong? Not us." Gordon finished looking pleased with himself.

"Not sure Sammy would agree with you there," I quipped, looking at him.

"Doesn't seem like your brother's much like us," Gordon said, and Dean looked a little cautious at that comment, Gordon was quick to explain himself, seeing the look.

"I'm not saying he's wrong. Just different. But you and me? We were born to do this. It's in our blood." Gordon said looking straight at Dean, who swallowed and stared at Gordon thoughtfully. Gordon took a swig of his beer and turned his eyes on me, I was mulling over that statement.

"You though, Beth, you I haven't quite figured out yet." He said giving me an appraising look.

"That right?" I asked with guarded eyes.

"Well yeah, I mean for a start – you're a girl, and I don't much hold to girl hunters." I raised an eyebrow. "But you proved tonight that you can hold your own, in fact there's a bit of a ruthless streak in you – but I'm betting you don't show it very often."

I swallowed, thinking about how I'd just rammed that spear into the vampire earlier, I hadn't even hesitated, and then there was the time I nearly put that little girl's head through a wall because she'd pissed me off when slicing Dean open with a knife.

"Well we all have our dark sides," I said cryptically, taking another drink.

"Hmmm. That we do, that we do. And from what I've heard on the grapevine, you've had your fair share of darkness, but I'd say you dabble a little closer to the shades of grey that Sam does. Take for instance what happened to your father." He shook his head, thinking about it. Dean shifted in his seat, casting a nervous gaze over at me.

"What about it?" I asked him staring at him with cold eyes.

"Well, I'm just saying, maybe it's all those shades of grey that make us vulnerable to something like possession. Make us weak." He looked at me, dark eyes, dangerous and broody, he was testing me. "See, if it's all black and white, where is the doubt, the vulnerability to let something like that in?"

I fought down the anger coming up inside. "Well..." I said, "It's a damn good thing our Dad didn't see things in quite such a monochrome light, or we wouldn't even be having this conversation. He would have just killed me the minute he laid eyes on me." Dean flinched at that comment, and I leaned toward Gordon.

"How many innocent girls have you killed because of your black and white philosophy?" I asked Gordon, who said nothing. "I can tell you this much, you keep carrying all this hate around in you, that's going to make you a hell of a lot more vulnerable to a demon slipping into your meat suit, than _this girl _will ever be." I said it calmly, no need to let him know just how riled up I actually felt.

Dean looked over at me with a curious gaze, taking in what I'd said. Gordon was looking at me, as if assessing me, but he remained silent.

"OK, well, this conversation has been... fun," Dean said nervously with a chuckle. "How about we get back to some celebrating?"

I smiled at him, instantly changing demeanour. Let Gordon puzzle that one out. "Mhmmm, sounds good to me – I think it's time we broke out the tequila," I said to Dean, who nodded. I reached over and slid his wallet out of his back pocket, standing with a grin. "Your shout."

* * *

**Motel Room**

Sam wasn't there when we got back to the motel room. Dean and Gordon were sitting at a table discussing their next strategy over a map. I'd kind of been hoping Gordon would take off so I could get the boys alone and discuss my call with Ellen, it wasn't looking good.

"This is the best pattern I can establish. It's sketchy at best." Gordon said, tracing a line on the map.

"Looks like it's all coming from this side of town. Which means the nest would be around here some place, right?" Dean nodded, assessing the map.

"Yep, that's what I'm thinking. Problem is, there's thirty-five, forty farms out there. I've searched about half of them already, but nothing yet. They're covering their tracks real good." Gordon said.

"Then I guess we'll just have to search the other half." Dean said, looking at his watch and then up at me. "What time is it? Where is Sam?"

I shrugged, but I had been wondering the same thing, it was getting late.

"Car's parked outside. Probably went for a walk. Seems the 'take a walk' type." Gordon said dismissively. I frowned.

Dean was rubbing his eyes, he looked tired and a little worried. "Yeah, he is, but..." Dean started, looking up as the door opened, relieved when Sam came through it.

"Sam, where have you been?" I asked, worried. Sam gave me a serious look, still standing in the doorway.

"Beth, can I talk to you alone?" He asked, and I raised an eyebrow. Dean frowned and stood up.

"How about we all take a little walk?" Dean asked looking between Sam and me. "You mind chillin' out for a couple minutes?" He asked Gordon who shook his head, looking slightly amused.

We exited the room and walking out to the motel's parking lot.

"Dean, maybe we've got to rethink this hunt," Sam said, looking anxious.

"What are you talking about? Where were you?" Dean asked, looking confused.

"In the nest," Sam said and my mouth nearly hit the ground.

"You found it?" I asked.

"They found me, Beth." Sam said, looking at me.

"Well how'd you get out? How many did you kill?" I asked, he didn't look any worse for wear.

Sam threw his hands up in the air and shrugged. "None," he said, pointedly.

"Well Sam, they didn't just let you go," Dean said, frowning.

"That's _exactly _what they did." Sam said, looking between the two of us. I swallowed and looked at Sam, he looked unhurt, a little freaked out maybe, but anyone would be in his place.

"All right, well, where is it?" Dean said, talking about the nest again.

"I was blindfolded, I don't know." Sam said.

"Well, you've got to know something." Dean pointed out.

"We went over that bridge outside of town, but Dean, listen. Maybe we shouldn't go after them." Sam said, he was looking all worked up and concerned.

"Why not?" I asked, curious.

"I don't think they're like other vampires. I don't think they're killing people." Sam said.

"You're joking?" Dean said, but Sam's look told him otherwise. He frowned.

"Then how do they stay alive? Or undead, or whatever the hell they are?" Dean asked.

"The cattle mutilations. They said they live off of animal blood." Sam explained and I stopped to give this some thought. Could they do that?

"And you believed them?" Dean asked, sceptical.

"Look at me, Dean. They let me go without a scratch." Sam pointed out, and there was no denying that.

"Wait, so you're saying..." Dean stopped and thought about it. "No, man, no way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find 'em, we waste 'em." Dean said, and I frowned. Had he heard nothing of that earlier conversation?

"Why?" Sam asked, lost at the train of thought.

"What part of 'vampires' don't you understand Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it, end of story. That's our job." Dean said stubbornly.

"No Dean, that is not our job. Our job is hunting evil! And if these things aren't killing people, they're not evil!" Sam countered, getting angry.

"Of course they're killing people, that's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, ok? We have to exterminate every last one of them." Dean said, starting to sound a little scary.

"No, Dean, I don't think so, all right? Not this time." Sam was resolute.

"Gordon's been on those vamps for a year, man, he knows." Dean said, pointing back at the room.

"Gordon?" Sam looked amused.

"Yes." Dean said, stern look in his eyes.

Sam threw me a frustrated look. "You're taking his word for it?"

"That's right," Dean said with a nod.

"Ellen says he's bad news," I chimed in, looking at them both. They turned to stare at me.

"You called Ellen?" Dean asked me and I nodded. He looked a little taken aback and then shrugged.

"And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely know her Beth, no thanks, I'll go with Gordon." Dean argued and I shook my head.

"Right, 'cause Gordon's such an old family friend," Sam smirked. "You don't think I can see what this is?" Sam asked.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"He's a substitute for Dad, isn't he?" Sam asked. "A poor one."

"Shut up Sam," Dean said, looking uncomfortable.

"He's not even close Dean. Not on his best day." Sam said, and I had to agree.

"You know what? I'm not even going to talk about this." Dean said throwing his arms up and smiling at Sam.

"You know, you slap on this big fake smile but I can see right through it. Because I know how you feel, Dean. Dad's dead. And he left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can't take it, but you can't just fill up that hole with whoever you want to." Sam said loudly. "It's an insult to his memory." I felt the tears coming up into my eyes again and blinked them back.

"Ok." Dean said smirking. He started to turn away and then at the last moment swung his arm around punching Sam hard in the jaw.

"Dean!" I gasped, stepping up beside Sam. Sam paused, turning back slowly to glare at his brother who was looking ready for a fight. Sam didn't take the bait.

"You can hit me all you want. It won't change a thing." Sam said quietly and I looked furiously between the pair of them.

"I'm going to that nest. You don't want to tell me where it is, fine. I'll find it myself." Dean said angrily, turning and walking back to the motel room.

"Dean!" I called out to him, glancing at Sam who glared at his retreating brother. We both followed him, set on talking some sense into him.

When we got back indoors, Gordon was gone.

"Gordon?" Dean asked, looking around.

"You think he went after them?" I asked.

"Probably." Dean said.

"Dean, we have to stop him," Sam said.

"Really, Sam? Because I say we lend a hand." Dean countered, stubborn as ever.

Sam reached a hand out in front of him. "Just give me the benefit of the doubt, would you? You owe me that." Sam said to him.

"Yeah, we'll see. I'll drive. Give me the keys." Dean said, surly. Sam pointed over to a table and then looked back when he couldn't see the keys.

"He snaked the keys!"

* * *

Dean grimaced and reached under the dash to hot-wire the car.

"I can't believe this. I just fixed her up too!" He muttered, the engine started and he sat back in his seat, looking at Sam. "So, the bridge, is that all you got?"

Sam was sitting in the passenger seat looking at a map. "The bridge was four and a half minutes from their farm."

"How do you know?" I asked, leaning forward.

Sam looked at me. "I counted," he said with a smile. He traced along the map with his finger the likely route to take. "They took a left out of the farm, then turned right onto a dirt road, followed that for two minutes slightly up a hill, then took another quick right and we hit the bridge."

"You're good," Dean said, impressed. "You're a monster pain in the ass, but you're good." Sam grinned.

We were at the farm inside of ten minutes, Gordon's car was already there. Sam was out and headed for the house before Dean had even shut down the engine. We hurried after him, Dean was sliding his gun into the back of his pants. I was a little curious as to why we'd left the machetes in the car if we were going to be helping out Gordon... maybe Sam had gotten through to him after all.

We found Gordon in the kitchen, a female vampire was tied to a chair at the head of the table, a jar of blood in front of her. She was covered in small cuts, looking pale and sickly, moaning in pain. I watched as Gordon dipped a knife in the blood, and circling around, sliced the knife across her chest, the girl gasped from the pain. I exchanged a look with Dean that basically said this wasn't the way we did business.

He looked up when we entered. "Guys, come on in."

"Hey, Gordon," Dean said, a wary tone to his voice. "What's going on?"

"Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood. She's going to tell us where all her little friends are, aren't you? Want to help?" Gordon answered, a fanatical, frightening look in his eyes.

"Look, man..." Dean started stepping further into the room, only to be interrupted by Gordon who was speaking erratically.

"Grab a knife. I was just about to start in on the fingers." Gordon finished his sentence by dragging his knife across Lenore's arm, Sam started to move in on Gordon and I threw Dean an urgent look, this so wasn't how we our jobs.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hey, let's all just chill out, huh?" Dean said, holding out a hand.

"I'm completely chill." Gordon said. _And completely nuts, _I thought to myself.

"Gordon, put the knife down." Sam said, stepping forward only to have Dean put his arm out.

"Sounds like it's Sam here needs to chill." Gordon said, turning his gaze on the latter.

"Just step away from her, all right?" I said, stepping around Sam and moving half way down the table toward him.

Gordon looked at us, almost like he was hearing what we were saying. "You're right. I'm wasting my time here." He tossed the bloody dagger on the table and moved closer to me and his bag on the table. "This bitch will never talk. Might as well put her out of her misery," he said, pulling out an even bigger blade from his bag. "I just sharpened it, so it's completely humane." He said, looking up at me with a challenge.

"Gordon, I'm letting her go," Sam said and made to move toward Lenore. Gordon's eyes flared and took a few steps, pointing the knife at my chest, we all froze.

"You're not doing a damn thing," Gordon said to Sam, eyes warning him that he was serious.

"Hey, hey, hey, Gordon, let's talk about this." Dean said, throwing Sam a cautioning look.

"What's there to talk about? It's like I said, Dean. No shades of grey." Gordon said, looking at Dean.

"Yeah." Dean's voice was low and controlled, but I knew it would be far from what he was feeling. "I hear ya. And I know how you feel." Dean took a few steps, not breaking eye contact with Gordon.

"Do you?" Gordon asked with a steely look.

"The vampire that killed your sister deserved to die, but this one..." Dean was interrupted by Gordon's manic laughter.

"Killed my sister?" He said, still brandishing the knife at me. "That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her. It made her one of them. So I hunted her down, and I killed her myself."

"You did what?" Dean asked, shocked.

"It wasn't my sister any more, it wasn't human. I didn't blink. Just like your Daddy shouldn't have blinked with this one," he looked at me, eyes full of contempt. "And neither should you."

I swallowed, this man was completely mad, more so than Ellen had let on.

"So you knew all along then? You knew about the vampires, you knew they weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle. And you just didn't care." Sam said, changing the subject, looking a little anxious as he stepped closer to me.

"Care about what? A nest of vampires suddenly acting nice? Taking a little time out from sucking innocent people? And we're supposed to buy that? Trust me. Doesn't change what they are, and I can prove it." His eyes turned dark and he grabbed my arm, slicing the knife along it. I gasped and he pulled me to him, laying the knife against my throat while holding my arm at an odd angle. He dragged me over toward Lenore. Dean pulled his gun, eyes furious.

"Let her go." He said, pissed. "Now!"

"Relax." Gordon said, seemingly not worried about the gun. "If I wanted to kill her, she'd already be on the floor. Just making a little point." Gordon held my arm over Lenore's face and squeezed it, a couple of drops of blood fell. She hissed, fangs extending in a snarl.

"Hey!" Dean shouted, moving a few steps closer.

"You think she's so different? Still want to save her? Look at her. They're all the same. Evil, bloodthirsty." Gordon said, staring at Dean. Dean struggled with a decision, watching the whole scene unfold. I swallowed hard and looked down at Lenore. She was struggling to control herself, fighting, and then she won the battle, retracting her fangs and turning away her face.

"No, no!" She whimpered. Dean's eyes looked surprised and he frowned at this behaviour.

"You hear her, Gordon?" Sam asked, coming a few more steps.

"No, no!" Lenore was still whimpering, fighting her nature. Gordon looked shocked, staring at her, his grip on my arm lessened and I used the momentary lapse in concentration to twist his wrist, disarming him and bringing the knife up to his throat, pushing him against the wall.

"We're done here." I said, glaring at him in the eye.

"Sam, get her out of here." Dean said nodding at Lenore, still training the gun on Gordon.

"Yeah," Sam said, untying the ropes and picking Lenore up in his arms. Gordon went to move after them, but I pressed the knife into his neck, drawing a little blood.  
"Uh-uh." I said, "I don't think so."

"Gordon," Dean said, still pointing the gun at the crazed hunter. "I think you and I have some things to talk about."

I looked over at Dean and he nodded at me. I stepped back, lowering the knife from Gordon's neck, moving out of reach of him quickly and coming around to where Dean was – he might be beaten, but he was still crazy.

"Get out of my way." Gordon growled, grabbing a knife from the table, and Dean shook his head.

"Sorry." He replied.

"You're not serious." Gordon said, shaking his head.

"I'm having a hard time believing it too, but I know what I just saw. If you want those vampires, you've gotta go through me." Dean said. I looked at Dean like he was mad, what was he looking for a fight?

Gordon nodded, looking at me and considering his options. He looked down at the knife he was wielding, then back at Dean before jamming it into the table where it stood at attention.

"Fine," he said, challenging Dean.

"Dean..." I cautioned, looking at him. He glanced at me.

"Stay out of this, you hear?" His eyes warned me that he wanted to handle this on his own. I sighed and nodded, moving back toward the wall. Dean pulled the clip out of his gun, pocketing it, and went to put the gun in his other pocket. Gordon wasted no time taking advantage of Dean's distraction, throwing a punch and hitting him in the jaw. Dean hit him back, and Gordon stumbled back, grabbing the knife out of the table. Dean groaned, unhappy at the unfair play and slipped into a defensive stance.

Gordon swung at Dean a couple of times and Dean dodged, jumping back with each swing. He caught hold of Gordon's knife arm and swung him around, smashing the arm several times against the wall until Gordon dropped the knife.

"What are you doing, man? You doing this for a fang? Come on, Dean, we're on the same side here." Gordon muttered at him as they struggled to get a hold on each other.

They spun, wrestling with each other, holds on each other's shirts. "I don't think so, you sadistic bastard!" Dean said. Gordon broke the hold, punching Dean a couple of times in the face before kicking him from the kitchen into the living room, smashing into a coffee table. Dean rolled on to his side with a groan, I gasped, debating whether to intervene or not but Dean glared at me, warning me to stay out of it. I tested the weight of the knife in my hand just the same, just in case.

"You're not like your brother. You're a killer, like me." Gordon said, advancing on Dean. As he got within reach, Dean kicked out, sweeping Gordon's legs out from under him, jumping up and punching him in the face a few more times before hauling Gordon to his feet and throwing him against the wall. Gordon looked groggy, Dean had gotten the upper hand.

Dean looked at him in disgust, then elbowed him in the face. "That's for cutting my girl, you sorry son of a bitch!" He put Gordon into a headlock and pulled him into the kitchen, ramming his head against the wall as he passed through the arch separating the two rooms. Gordon groaned at the impact. "Oooh sorry," Dean said without much conviction.

He set Gordon down in a chair and I grabbed the rope that had been used to restrain Lenore, bringing it over. Dean took it with a grimace and started to wind it around Gordon, tying him up.

"You know, I might be like you, and I might not." Dean said with a grunt. "But you're the one tied up right now," he said, stepping back to admire his handiwork. I sighed with relief, glad to see that little display of testosterone was out of the way.

* * *

Dawn had arrived, light streaming through the shutters in the bay window of the kitchen nook. I was sitting on the kitchen counter, legs dangling down, playing with the knife I'd taken from Gordon. Dean was pacing around Gordon, staring him down.

Sam entered, looking at us. "Did I miss anything?" He asked, taking in the fresh bruising on Dean's face.

"Nah, not much." Dean said with a shrug and I raised my eyebrow.

"Did Lenore get out ok?" I asked Sam, looking up.

"Yeah. All of them did." Sam said, accentuating that last part for Gordon's sake.

"Then I guess our work here is done. How you doin', Gordy? Gotta tinkle yet?" Dean asked, looking over at the sullen, yet fully conscious man tied to the chair. He threw us all death glares in response.

"All right. Well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out, untie you." Dean said, walking behind Gordon and jamming one of his knives into the table behind him. I jumped off the counter, glaring at Gordon. I was still a little bitchy about the fresh cut on my arm, it stung like a son of a bitch.

"You know Dean," Gordon said suddenly, causing us to pause. "We'd make a good team, you'd have to ditch these pair though. They're weak. They'll only hold you back from your true potential." Dean raised his eyebrow in amusement.

"Yeah, I think I'll pass, if it's all the same to you," Dean replied.

"Ready to go?" Sam asked us both, moving toward the door.

"Not yet," I said, standing over Gordon. I smiled and cocked my head to the side. "I guess this is goodbye. Well, it's been real." I pulled my arm back and smashed him in the face, the impact driving him backwards, falling to the floor. I grimaced at the pain in my knuckles, but it was a good pain.

I turned back to Dean and Sam who were looking at me a little stunned. "OK, I'm good now. We can go." I said with a smile, walking past them and leading the way out.

Outside I leaned against the Impala and turned to watch the boys exit the house. Dean was wincing a little from the beating he'd taken. When they got to the bottom step, Dean turned to Sam, setting himself on his feet like a boxer about to go three rounds in the ring.

"Sam? Clock me one." He said, Sam stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" Sam said.

"Come on. I won't even hit you back. Let's go." Dean said, waving for Sam to hit him. I shook my head, amused. Clearly Dean was feeling a little bit guilty about that punch he'd socked Sam with last night. Worse that Sam had been right.

"No," Sam said with a twitch of his mouth.

"Let's go, you can get a freebie. Hit me, come on!" Dean urged.

"Dean, you look like you just went twelve rounds with a block of cement. I'll take a raincheck." Sam said, shaking his head and walking away.

"I wish we never took this job, it's just jacked everything up," Dean said, coming to stand in front of me.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Think about all the hunts we went on, Beth, our whole lives." Dean said, looking uncomfortable.

"Okay," I said, tilting my head at him.

"What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? You know? I mean, the way Dad raised us..." Dean looked conflicted.

"Dean, after what happened to Mom, Dad did the best he could," Sam said, looking at us from the other side of the car.

"I know he did. But the man wasn't perfect. And the way he raised us, to hate those things; and man, I hate them. I do." Dean looked over at Sam. "When I killed that vampire at the mill I didn't even think about it; hell I even enjoyed it." He looked back at me, struggling with that confession.

"You didn't kill Lenore," Sam pointed out.

"No, but every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her. I was gonna kill 'em all." Dean said, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah, Dean, but you didn't," I said, resting a hand on his arm. "And that's what matters."

He looked at me, a smile almost reaching his mouth. "Yeah well, only because the pair of you are major pains in my ass!" He quipped and I chuckled, looking up at him with a smile.

"Well, guess we better stick around and continue being pains in the ass then," I said, looking back at Sam who was nodding with a smile.

"Thanks," Dean said, looking from Sam to me.

"Don't mention it," Sam said, getting in the car. Dean stared off into the distance for a moment before looking back at me, he was still conflicted, this new perspective not sitting easy with him, but he looked a little relieved.

"Good thing I have you," he said quietly to me, looking a little frightened at his own dark side.

"Good thing we have each other," I replied, kissing his cheek.

He got in the car and I slid into the seat behind him, staring out the window. Dean wasn't the only one struggling with inner demons. Gordon had just reminded me that there was a part of me that still held a lot of rage over what the supernatural, demons especially, had done to our lives. I'd lost two fathers to them, and I still felt like there should have been something more I could have done, something to change the outcome, to stop their deaths. Both times I'd failed, and there were days where it just consumed me inside. But days like this, when we got to do a little good, put something right in the world, it made it all a little better.

I fingered the rosary at my neck, thinking about all the prayers I'd offered over the years. Never once had I prayed for a creature, never even considered there might be good in them. Yet today, I found myself praying that Lenore and her nest found a little peace from being hunted, for once in their lives.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is _Save our Souls _by Blutengel

* * *

Anyone interested in seeing a flashback to pre-relationship Dean & Beth? I'm thinking ages 18 and 21? (Around the time Beth starts hunting regularly with Dean and John) I might have an episode which would work for a flashback if people are interested.

* * *

So I've actually had a couple of requests to see a little more sexy Dean time (ie. smut) I'm happy to throw this in more if that's what people like (only if it works with the story – or maybe I'll do some side stories and put them in a separate 'story'? I'm flexible), I just don't want to turn people off reading the series. Let me know what your thoughts are, you're the readers – more, less, the same? You can PM me if you don't want to put your answer in a review. Personally, I love the smut, but it's not everyone's thing and I respect that. BTW there is a smut episode coming up LOL I just have to write it.

BTW if people could clarify what they mean when they say smut, that would help out too – are you talking full on sex, or the little sexy moments like Dean & Beth in the library? :D

* * *

Anyone interested in talking possible storylines with me? Always like to chat about this and where to take it all – great bouncing ideas around with people who are enjoying the story as much as I like writing it.

* * *

Oh, and totally random – I was thinking today about a creative story I wrote for English back when I was in high school. We were studying _Dead Poet's Society _and had to write a piece based on that. I wrote a prologue to the movie. I realised today that it was my first fanfic! Hahaha I wish I had a copy of it somewhere, I remember at the time thinking it was one of the best things I'd ever written, and I know I got an A++ for it :D

* * *

THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to leave a review and/or pm – glad you're enjoying the storyline so far as we head into Season 2.


	5. Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

_I have nothing left to give__  
__I have found the perfect end__  
__You were made to make it hurt__  
__Disappear into the dirt__  
__Carry me to heaven's arms__  
__Light the way and let me go__  
__Take the time to take my breath__  
__I will end where I began_

_And I will find the enemy within  
__Cause I can feel it crawl beneath my skin  
_

_Dear Agony  
__Just let go of me  
__Suffer slowly  
__Is this the way it's gotta be?__  
_

* * *

**CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS**

* * *

The Impala was racing down the highway, I was slouched in the front with Dean, listening to him complain, not for the first time I might add, about our younger brother's desire to visit his mother's grave.

"Come on Sam, I'm begging you. This is stupid." Dean said again, looking in the mirror at Sam who was in the back seat.

"Why?" Sam asked, genuinely confused.

"Going to visit Mom's grave? She doesn't even have a grave, there was no body left after the fire," Dean said, shaking his head.

"She has a headstone." Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, put up by her uncle, a man we've never even met." Dean said, rolling his eyes at me. I bit my lip and said nothing, no way was I getting in the middle of this one. Dean frowned at me for the lack of support, and continued with his reasoning. "So you want to go pay your respects to a slab of granite put up by a stranger?"

"Dean, that's not the point," Sam said, doing the whole puppy eyed look.

"Well then, enlighten me, Sam." Dean said, staring at Sam through the mirror.

"It's not about a body or, or a casket, it's about her memory ok?" Sam said.

"Hmmm," Dean said, pondering but not really getting it.

"And after Dad, it just... just feels like the right thing to do." Sam said finally.

"It's irrational is what it is," Dean countered, shaking his head again, clearly uncomfortable with the whole idea behind the trip.

"Look, man. No one asked you to come." Sam said, raising his eyebrow.

"Why don't we swing by the roadhouse instead? I mean, we haven't heard anything about the demon lately, we should be hunting that son of a bitch down." Dean said and I felt that familiar feeling of dread and guilt in my stomach start coming to the surface again.

"That's a good idea, you should. Just drop me off, I'll hitch a ride, and I'll met you guys there tomorrow." Sam said, nodding.

Dean paused, re-thinking his strategy. "Right. To be... stuck with those people, making awkward small talk until you show up? No thanks." Dean changed his mind.

"Well you and Beth could just go do your own thing somewhere, _talk _things through, I'm sure you have a lot to _talk _about," Sam suggested. "I could meet you anywhere you want."

I looked back at him and raised my eyebrow. Yeah ok, so Dean and I hadn't been in a particularly _great _space this last month or so, but then, who the hell was given the circumstances?

I hadn't realised that Sam was starting to see the tell tale signs of us being on edge. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised either, he'd been around us long enough to know, especially since it'd been a while since we'd shoved him off to his own room. I looked over at Dean who was looking at me a little guarded.

"Thanks for that not-so-subtle hint there Dr. Phil," Dean said, scowling at Sam.

"Hey I'm just saying, you guys seem to need a little time out," Sam said with a shake of his head.

"Thanks for your concern Sammy, but we're fine. Aren't we Dean?" I said stubbornly.

"Yep, all good here..." Dean said looking at me. "All good over there?"

"Yep, all good." I said with a nod, turning back to the road.

"See, all good Sammy," Dean said, but his frown kind of said otherwise.

Sam sighed at the pair of us and shook his head. "Like two peas in a pod," he muttered to himself, sitting back resigned.

I caught Dean looking over at me, a little worried expression on his face, and I felt my mouth twitch in a sad expression of my own. He slid his arm across the bench-seat to me, playing with my hair a bit while keeping one eye on the road, one hand on the wheel. Then he pulled me over to him, putting his hand back on the wheel. I sidled up to him and rested my head on his shoulder, his hand dropped to my knee and I tucked my arm through his, cuddling it close to me.

Yep, all good, no problems here at all, I sighed and closed my eyes for a bit. Sam was right, we really did need some time out, but it was a bit of a scary prospect because of the can of worms it also threatened to open up between us.

* * *

**Cemetery  
**_**Greenville, Illinois**_**  
**

Sam dragged me along with him to Mary's grave, Dean refused to come and was wandering off into the cemetery seeking a little peace and quiet. I was restless, graveyards just gave me the jitters, I didn't like being in them at all, but at least it was daytime, so it didn't seem quite so bad.

I watched as Sam used a pocketknife to dig a tiny hole in the green top of the grave. He pulled John's dog tags out of his pocket and looked at them for a while. I fought back the feeling of desperation I felt whenever I had to see anything to do with John's death, and looked away. Sam buried them in the ground, looking at the headstone.

"I think, um, I think Dad would have wanted you to have these," Sam said quietly. "I love you Mom."

I squeezed his shoulder and then wandered off in search of Dean. I found him near a dying tree, looking around. When he saw me he smiled and wrapped an arm around me.

"Hey," he said casually, leaning down to kiss me.

"Hey." I said back, smiling.

"Check this out," he said and pulled me along with him and pointing to a grave marker – an indication of a newly buried person. Around it there was a perfect circle of dead grass, dead flowers graced the top of the new grave.

"Well that's weird," I said, frowning.

Sam found us as Dean was finishing up talking to the grounds keeper. He rejoined us, looking up at Sam.

"Angela Mason. She was a student at the local college; funeral was three days ago." He informed us.

"And?" Sam asked, curious where this was going.

"And? You see her grave? Everything dead around it, in a perfect circle? You don't think that's a little weird?" Dean asked, gesturing back toward the marker before walking toward the Impala.

"Maybe the grounds keeper went a little agro with the pesticide," Sam suggested with a shrug.

"No, I asked him. No pesticide, no chemicals. Nobody can explain it." I said quietly, staring over at the grave.

"Ok, so what are you thinking?" Sam asked, looking from me to Dean.

"I dunno," Dean said, "Unholy ground, maybe?" Sam looked sceptical.

"What?" Dean challenged, looking at Sam confused. "If something evil happened there, it could easily poison the ground. Remember the, the farm outside of Cedar Rapids?"

"Yeah, but..." Sam shifted uncomfortably.

"Could be the sign of a demonic presence. Or the, the Angela girl's spirit, if it's powerful enough." Sam nodded, turning away and starting toward the car.

Dean threw me a frustrated look and followed him.

"Well don't get too excited, you might pull something." Dean snapped.

"It's just...stumbling on to a hunt? Here, of all places?" Sam was in full Dr. Phil mode all of a sudden and I rolled my eyes. I wandered around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door. Dean was leaning on the roof of the car.

"So?" Dean said, not seeing the problem with Sam's suggestion.

"So? Are you sure this is about a hunt, and not about something else?" Sam asked.

"What else would it be about?" Dean asked stubbornly.

"You know, just forget it," Sam said shaking his head.

"You believe what you want, Sam, but I let you drag our asses out here, the least we could do is check this out." Dean said, frustrated.

"Yeah. Fine." Sam said and I grinned. It wouldn't have mattered anyway, I was sufficiently intrigued to weigh in Dean's favour on this one. Sam was totally outnumbered.

"Girl's dad works in town, he's a professor at the school," Dean said, looking at us and getting in the car. Sam sighed at me and I gave him a look that told him he owed Dean enough to at least check it out.

* * *

**College Grounds **

Sam decided to stay in the car, he was sulking a little thinking this thing we were so eager to check out was just another way to mask the pain of losing John and not wanting to deal with our grief. Apparently he was staging some sort of a protest by staying in the car.

Dean and I shrugged, heading inside. Sometimes it was easier, just the two of us, so his protest was falling on deaf ears. We loved Sam, but he could be a bit of a wet blanket sometimes. We found the door to Dr. Mason's office and knocked. A short, balding man came to the door, looking out at us.

"Dr Mason?" I asked when he opened the door.

"Yes?" He said, looking at us expectantly.

"I'm Beth, this is Dean. We were friends of Angela's, we … well we wanted to offer our condolences." I said to the man.

"Please, come in." Dr Mason invited, smiling at us both.

He closed the door behind us and I took a seat that he offered. Dean wandered off to look at the bookshelf nearby. I smiled, gesturing to a photo album Dr Mason had on his desk.

"May I?" I asked.

"Please." Dr Mason said, nodding. I picked the album up and flipped through it. It was basic and rustic. Recycled paper with random photos and handwritten notes on every page, clearly put together by a loving daughter.

"She was beautiful," I said softly with a smile, feeling sad that this girl's life had ended so early.

"Yes, she was." Dr Mason agreed with me.

Dean was looking at a large book he'd located, he looked up at us and closed the cover, holding it up toward us. I noticed that there were Greek letters on it along with a triangular symbol – not one I'd seen before.

"This is an unusual book," he commented.

"It's ancient Greek; I teach a course," Dr Mason explained and Dean looked at it curiously before putting it back on the shelf.

"So a car accident, that's, that's horrible," Dean said, walking over to us.

"Angie was only a mile away from home when, uh..." Dr Mason's voice trailed off.

"It's got to be hard. Losing someone like that. Sometimes it's like they're still around. Almost like you can still sense their presence." Dean said softly and not so subtly. I looked up at him with a warning look. Dean ignored me.

"You ever feel anything like that?" He asked Angela's father.

"I do, as a matter of fact," Dr Mason said, nodding.

"That's perfectly normal, Dr. Mason." I said, putting a warning tone in my voice for Dean. "Especially with what you're going through."

"You know, I still phone her. And the phone's ringing before I remember that, uh... family's everything, you know? Angie was the most important thing in my life. And now I, I'm just lost without her." Dr Mason said as he fought to hold back tears. Dean looked away, his face an unreadable mask.

"We're really very sorry," I said, and I was. I knew just how he felt.

* * *

**Motel Room**

"I'm telling you, there's something going on here, we just haven't found it yet." Dean said flipping through John's journal, standing in the doorway to the bathroom where Sam was washing his face.

"Dean, so far you've got a patch of dead grass and nothing." Sam said, looking in the mirror at him sceptically.

"Well, something turned that grave into unholy ground." Dean said, looking at Sam.

"There's no reason for it to be unholy ground." Sam said, turning to face him, drying his face with a towel. "You said according to her Dad, Angela Mason was a nice girl who died in a car crash, that's not exactly vengeful spirit material."

"Yeah, well, maybe Daddy doesn't know everything there is to know about his little angel, huh?" Dean said, walking back into the main part of the room, Sam following behind him.

"You know what? We never should have bothered that poor man. We shouldn't even be here any more." Sam said, shaking his head.

"So what, Sam? We just bail? Without even figuring out what's going on?" Dean asked.

"I think I know what's going on here. It's the only reason I went along with you this far." Sam said quietly.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"This is about Mom's grave." Sam said. I groaned silently and sat back on the bed Dean was now standing next to. Would he just not let up on that?

Dean scoffed, looking down at the journal again. "That's got nothing to do with it."

"You wouldn't step within a hundred yards of it. Look. Maybe you're imagining a hunt where there isn't one so you don't have to think about Mom. Or Dad." Dean turned to stare at Sam, eyes angry and bitter.

Sam sighed. "You wanna take another swing? Go ahead, if it'll make you feel better." Dean shook his head just barely, still staring at Sam.

"I don't need this crap." He said angrily, grabbing his jacket and bag.

"Where are you going?" I asked, sitting up on the bed.

"I'm getting us our own room. And then I'm going to go get a drink." He said, walking out and slamming the door.

I groaned and started collecting my things up and putting them in my bag. Sam sighed and paced around the room.

"He's gotta start dealing with this Beth, there's no case here, it's all in his head!" Sam ranted.

"We don't know that Sam, let's just give it some time, take a bit more of a look around ok?" I said, zipping up my bag.

"Has he talked to you? I mean if he'll talk to anyone..." Sam looked at me and I shook my head.

"Not really, Sam. You know, a little, but that's Dean. You have to give him some time, he's working through it in his own way." I said.

Sam struggled, his face awash with emotions.

"Look, you're worried about Dean, I get it, we all are Sammy. But this isn't going to help." I sighed and looked at him.

"It's irresponsible Beth, he's erratic, he's moody..." Sam kicked at the bed, grumpy.

"It's been _six weeks _Sam! Come on, give him a break. If he's still like this in six _months _then we can do the whole gang up on him and make him deal thing. Until then... just let me handle it, ok?" I asked, finishing on a gentle note.

"But are you?" He asked, turning accusing eyes to me. "Are you handling it Beth? I mean you're almost as bad as he is!"

I steeled myself, trying to hide the hurt out of my eyes. "When I want to talk about Dad, I will, ok Sam? Don't push it." I said.

Sam threw his hands in the air. "You two are exactly alike!" He groaned and stormed off to the bathroom. I heard the shower running and frowned. Did he just walk out on me?

"Well ok then... been good chatting Sam... let's do it again soon!" He ignored me and I shook my head. Same old Sammy. "OK well I'm going now little bro, I'll text you our room number once I know what it is." Still silence. "See you in the morning!" I stepped outside, shutting the door behind me and rolling my eyes.

* * *

**Another Motel Room  
****_Next morning_**

Mornings in bed with Dean had been the best part of the last few weeks. We made it a point to lie in because half the time we hadn't slept much the night before, too many nightmares and terrors. If one of us wasn't having some kind of a nightmare, the other usually was. It made for long nights of constant wakefulness, just holding each other in the dark, silently reassuring the other that it would end, one day – hopefully.

We would drift off to a deep sleep once the sun rose, and we left the blinds open so we could see it as early as possible every morning. Then we'd settle down and sleep, usually with me on my side, Dean tucked tightly behind me, an arm wrapped around my waist. It was comforting, familiar, and it was the only couple of hours peace we knew each day.

This morning though, Dean was fidgeting, still curled up behind me, not quite wanting to move just yet, but he was far from peaceful.

"That bloody Sammy..." Dean muttered in my ear, not for the first time since we'd moved our stuff into the room last night.

"He's just worried about you Dean." I mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah I know..." He sighed, resting his stubbly cheek against mine, I absently rubbed my face against it, liking how it felt.

"How come he doesn't give you a hard time like this?" He asked, rubbing my cheek back with a thoughtful look.

"He does," I said, yawning. He looked at me, confused.

"How come you're so calm about it all then?" He asked.

I turned in his arms a little so I could look up at him, smiling. "Dean, if I got as worked up with the pair of you as often as you two fight, I'd be a nervous wreck. Nope, I just let it wash over me, like water off a duck's back." I grinned, he laughed at that. It was far from true, but there was a little honesty in there.

"Think we can ditch Sam for the morning?" He asked, looking at me.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, you know, a little breaking and entering comes to mind." He said with a chuckle.

"Oooh, I'm intrigued." I said with a smile. He kissed me a couple of times before smiling and rolling out of bed. We'd been doing this dance for a while now, we were close, taking comfort in the mere presence of being in the room together, the feel of each other's touch. Dean had stopped following me around like he had been when John first died, but he was always within earshot.

There was still one part of us that hadn't returned to normal, and I didn't know what the block was with that – I assumed it was just part of the grieving process, part of it whatever Dean was feeling and wasn't talking about, and a lot of it the pain and loss I was feeling, and the fact that I couldn't talk to him about the demon and the deal that had saved his life. Either way, we had found our libidos almost non-existent. We definitely weren't talking about that.

Dean grabbed my phone and started tapping away at the keys. "Dear Sammy, Dean and I are taking off for some hanky-panky this morning, don't do anything we wouldn't do, talk to you later. Love, Beth." He muttered as he typed out a message for Sam.

"I don't talk like that!" I said, pulling the t-shirt I'd stolen from Dean off over my head and walking toward the bathroom.

"You do now!" He said with a chuckle, and hit send.

* * *

**Angela's House**

Dean used his credit card to open the locked door and we slipped inside. The house was neat and orderly, a few boxes on the table. Dean paused to look at a photo of Angela as I moved further into the living room. He turned suddenly and I heard a voice panic down the hallway.

"Who the hell are you?" A girl asked, and Dean started to walk down the hall. She ran and locked herself in the bedroom.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, hold on!" Dean said to her, reaching out.

"I'm calling 911!" The girl called through the door at us.

"I'm Angela's cousin!" Dean said quickly, standing at the door.

"What?" The girl said, hesitantly.

"Yeah, her dad sent me over to, uh, pick up her stuff – I'm here with my girlfriend – my name's Alan? Alan Stanwick?"

The girl opened the door and peered out, I had come up to stand a few feet away, backing up the whole girlfriend story.

"Her dad didn't say that you were coming," she said.

Dean held up his keys and looked at her. "Well, how else would I have the key to your place?" He asked.

Ten minutes later we were in the living room, I was sitting on the couch with the girl, who we now knew was Angela's room mate Lindsey. She was crying, and I was handing her a kleenex while Dean hovered behind me, looking uncomfortable with all the crying.

"So, I'm sure you got a view of Angela that none of her family got to see. What was she like? I mean, really like?" I asked gently.

Lindsey dabbed at her eyes and sniffed. "She was great. Just great. I mean, she was so..." She searched for the word, tears in her eyes.

"Great?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Lindsey said, nodding at him and crying again. "Yeah."

"Yeah." I said, handing her another tissue. "Here you go. You two must have been really close, huh?"

"We were. But it's not just her, it's Matt," she said, sniffling.

"Who?" Dean asked, looking over.

"Angela's boyfriend," Lindsey said, looking up.

"Right, Matt. What about him?" Dean asked.

"He killed himself last night. Cut his own throat..." She looked over at me. "Who does that?"

"That's terrible." I said sympathetically, patting her hand.

"He was taking Angela's death pretty hard, and I guess... I mean, he'd been messed up about it for days." She said.

"Messed up how?" Dean asked.

"He kept saying that he saw her everywhere." Lindsey explained, shrugging.

"Well, I'm sure that's normal, with everything that he was going through." I said with a smile.

"No, he said that he _saw her._ As in, an acid trip or something." Lindsey said, her eyes looking confused.

"Were Angela and Matt a happy couple?" Dean asked, his expression showed that he was thinking we were on to something. "I mean, is there any reason that Angela would be angry with him?"

"What? No, of course not, why do you ask?" Lindsey asked frowning at Dean.

"Just asking." Dean said dismissively. "Where did Matt live?"

We excused ourselves not long after that, I went to Angela's room, collecting an empty box and sealing it up like I had gotten a few items for her father, and then came out. There was one thing that I did grab which caught my attention. Like most girls, there was a diary hidden under her mattress. I smiled, and reflected on the kinds of things written in _my _journal and shook my head. No crushes or crap in mine, just how to kill vampires, demons, wendigos... nothing odd about me at all. Of course I had been known to keep a regular diary too, but those were well hidden.

* * *

**Sam's motel room**

Dean barged into Sam's room without a pre-emptive knock, Sam looked a little startled and shut off the TV he'd been staring at, tossing down the remote, looking a little guilty .

"Hey," Sam said, looking at us both casually.

Dean moved slowly into the room, giving Sam an amused look.

"What?" Sam asked, looking anxious.

"Awkward..." Dean said with a chuckle, glancing at the TV and what we were all pretty sure had been an adult channel.

"Where in the hell have you guys been?" Sam asked, changing the subject. "I mean really... hanky-panky?" He looked at me and I shrugged sheepishly.

"We were working my imaginary case." Dean said going over to look at the magazines on the counter against the opposite wall.

"Yeah? And?" Sam asked.

"Well, you were right, we didn't find much." Dean said, turning to look resignedly at Sam.

Sam nodded at him sympathetically, I rolled my eyes at Dean.

"Yeah. Except Angela's boyfriend died last night. Slit his own throat." He drew his finger across his own neck to drive that point home. "But, you know, that's normal." Sam smirked.

"Uh, let's see, what else." Dean said, enjoying this a little too much. "Oh, he was seeing Angela everywhere before he died." He paused, looking at Sam. "But you know, I'm sure that's just me transferring my own feelings." Dean was on a roll, still worked up over last night.

"Okay, I get it." Sam said with a smile, looking up at us. "I'm sorry, maybe there is something going on here."

"Maybe?" Dean asked, spinning around to confront his brother. "Sam, I know how to do my job, despite what you might think!" Dean said, a little frustrated.

Sam looked a little taken aback and nodded, not meeting Dean's gaze.

"We should check out the guy's apartment." Sam said, changing the subject.

"We just came from there. Pile of dead plants, just like the cemetery. Dead goldfish too." I said, taking a seat on one of the chairs and putting my feet up on the bed, tossing my bag on the mattress.

"So, unholy ground?" Sam asked.

"Maybe. I'm still not getting that powerful angry spirit vibe from Angela." I said, sitting forward and starting to rummage through my bag. I pulled out the pink diary and held it up. "I have been reading this, though."

"You stole the girl's diary?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Yeah Sam, girls prerogative, you find you read it – she should have hidden it better." I said with a raised eyebrow. "Now, if anything, this girl is a little tooooo nice." I said, looking at the boys.

"So what do you want to do?" Sam asked, looking at Dean.

"Keep digging, talk to more of her friends." Dean answered, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the pot on the counter.

"You get any names?" Sam asked.

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, holding up the diary. "I have her bestest friend in the whole wide world here!"

* * *

**Neil's House**

We decided to talk to Angela's best friend Neil first. He was standing at the door way, looking a little pale and tired.

"I didn't realise the college employed grief counsellors." Neil said, looking at the three of us. Maybe it was a little overkill, but Sam had wanted back in now we were working an honest to god, real case.

"Oh yeah." Dean said with a smile. "Yeah, you talk, we listen. Or maybe throw in a little therapeutic collage, whatever jump-starts the healing."

Neil looked at us hesitantly. "Well, I think I'm ok. Thanks," he said, not inviting us in and instead moving to go back inside.

"Well, you heard what happened to Matt Harrison, right?" I asked, looking at him.

"Yeah, I did." Neil said, nodding.

"Well, we just wanted to make sure you were okay. Grief can make people do crazy things." I said with a concerned look. Dean smiled.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened to him. I am. But if Matt killed himself it wasn't because of grief," Neil said confidently.

"No? Then why?" Dean asked.

"It was guilt. Angie's death was Matt's fault, and he knew it." Neil informed us.

"How was Matt responsible?" Sam asked from behind me.

"Well, she really loved that guy. But the night of the accident she walked in on him with another girl." Neil looked down, troubled. "She was really torn up, that's why she crashed the car." We all looked at him sympathetically, nodding.

"Um, look, I gotta get ready for work, so thanks for the concern, but... seriously, I'll be okay." Neil said, heading indoors. Dean turned to give Sam a significant look and Sam sighed. He wasn't going to live this one down any time soon.

"Well, that vengeful spirit theory's starting to make a little more sense..." I said, as we walked back to the Impala. "I mean, _hell hath no fury..."_ I finished with a smile. Dean looked a little uncomfortable at that and glanced at me.

"Remind me never to piss you off." He said with a grin, slipping his arm around my waist and pulling me tight.

"So, if Angela got her revenge on Matt, you think it's over?" Sam asked, ignoring us.

"Well there's one way to be sure," Dean said, pulling away from me and rounding the car to get in the driver's side.

"Yeah, what's that?" Sam asked when we were all seated inside the Impala.

"Burn the bones." Dean said. I grimaced.

"Burn the bones? Are you mad?" I said looking at him. Dean stopped and cast me a questioning look. "Dean, Angela died _last week!"_ I said, feeling horrified.

"So?" Dean asked.

"So, there's not gonna be bones. There's gonna be a ripe, rotting body in the coffin." Sam pointed out.

Dean looked over at Sam with a grin. "Since when are you afraid to get dirty. Huh?"

* * *

**Graveyard**

My shovel hit the coffin with a thud and I grimaced.

"Here we are, night time in a graveyard, digging up a corpse yet again... _must be Thursday!" _I said sarcastically. The boys looked at me, Dean had an amused expression on his face.

"Yeah ok apple-pie, our lives suck, we get it," he quipped at me with a grin.

I smirked and tossed a few more shovel loads of dirt out of the grave. Truth was, I loved our life most of the time, it was just one of those long standing jokes that everyone got tired of after a while, but still told.

Dean cleared off the rest of the dirt, tossing his shovel up on the side of the grave. Sam was standing above us looking down, a disgusted look on his face. Dean reached down with a knife and slit open the restraints holding the coffin shut, standing to look back at me.

"Ladies first," he said with a raised eyebrow.

I winced, looking at the coffin, not liking what we were going to find inside, but I wasn't going to back down from the dare. I grabbed the flash-light I'd left on the ground next to me and handed it to Dean.

"Hold that," I said with a grimace, leaning down to the coffin. I glanced up at Dean and he had a bit of a sickened look on his face too. Steeling myself, I flipped the top part of the coffin open, closing my eyes.

"Huh." Dean said, and I opened one eye to peek. The coffin was empty.

"Now that's interesting," Dean said, exchanging a look with Sam who was frowning.

"They buried the body four days ago." I said, confused.

"I don't get it." Sam said shining his own flash light down on us. The light hit something at the back of the coffin, and he shifted to look. "Look." Sam said, pointing the light at some carvings against the head of the coffin.

"What is that?" Dean asked, crouching next to me to get a better look.

"I'm not sure." I said, gazing at them.

"I've seen these kinds of symbols before," Dean said suddenly, looking up at Sam.

* * *

**Dr Mason's House**

The next morning there was no sleep in. I was exhausted, the little trip to the graveyard having done nothing good for my nightmares. As soon as it hit seven o'clock Dean was out of bed, showering and dressing, ready to go.

We were at Dr. Mason's house first thing, and Dean pounded heavily on the door, agitated.

"Dean. Take it easy, ok?" I warned him with a frown. Dean looked sullen, and banged on the door a second time.

Dr. Mason opened the door, looking at us.

"You're Angie's friends, right?" He asked, recognising Dean and I.

I started to speak. "Dr. Mason..."

"We need to talk!" Dean said sharply.

Dr Mason looked a little taken aback, but invited us in just the same.

"Thank you," I said quietly, walking past him.

Dean turned to face the professor, all business. "You teach Ancient Greek. Tell me, what are these?" Dean asked, handing Dr Mason a copy of the symbols we'd found in the coffin.

Dr Mason frowned, looking at the symbols. "I don't understand. You said this had something to do with Angela." He said.

"It does. Please, just humour me." Dean said, a little gentler.

"They're part of an ancient Greek divination ritual." Dr Mason said, looking at the symbols again.

"Used for necromancy, right?" Dean asked, looking at Dr Mason suspiciously.

"That's right." The professor said, nodding.

"See, before we came over here we stopped by the library and did a little homework ourselves. Apparently they used rituals like this one for communicating with the dead. Even bringing corpses back to life. Full-on zombie action." Dean said.

I was looking around the house, taking in our surroundings. Something didn't seem right.

"Yes. I mean, according to the legends." He handed the sheet of paper back to Dean, looking at him calmly. "Now, what's all this about?" Dr Mason asked.

"I think you know," Dean said, pushing.

"Dean." I said cautiously.

"Look, I get it. Okay? There are people that I would give anything to see again. But what gives you the right?" Dean was getting worked up and I started to wonder just whether this was about the case now.

"Dean!" Sam said, stepping forward, looking anxiously between the professor and Dean.

"What are you talking about?" Dr Mason asked.

"What's dead, should stay dead!" Dean said strongly, and I flinched.

"Stop it!" I said, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look a me. He broke my gaze and continued his tirade at the professor.

"What you brought back isn't even your daughter any more. These things are vicious, they're violent, they're so nasty they rot the ground around them. I mean, come on, haven't you seen _Pet Cemetery_?" Dean said loudly.

"You're insane!" Dr Mason said, walking away from Dean toward the back of the house.

"Where is she?" Dean pushed.

"Get out of my house." Dr Mason said, reaching for a phone nearby. Dean knocked it out of his hand and I gasped. He was losing it.

"I know you're hiding her somewhere. Where is she?!" Dean yelled.

"Dean! Stop! That's enough." I said, grabbing his arm again. "Dean, look!" I pointed to a row of plants by the window. "Look, beautiful, living plants." I said. Dean stopped, looking back at me, so much conflict in his eyes.

"We're leaving," Sam said, pushing us both toward the door.

"I'm calling the police." Dr Mason said, breathing heavy.

"Sir, we're sorry. We won't bother you again," I said quietly to the professor and then I pushed Dean out the door ahead of me.

Dean stormed down the pavement, Sam running after him.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Dean?" Sam asked, getting in his face.

"Back off!" Dean said, shoving him away.

"That man is innocent! He didn't deserve that!" Sam said.

"Okay, so she's not here, maybe he's keeping her somewhere else." Dean said, refusing to admit that he'd just made a really bad call.

"Stop it! That's enough, ok? Enough!" I said, coming between the two of them.

"I know what I'm doing," Dean said, looking at me.

"No, you don't. At all." Sam countered. "Dean, I don't scare easy, but man, you're scaring the crap out of me." He added looking at Dean, freaked out and anxious.

"Don't be over dramatic, Sam." Dean said

"Over dramatic?!" Sam scoffed. "Over dramatic? Well at least I'm feeling something, I'm experiencing something which is more than I can say for _the pair of you!" _Sam flashed angry eyes at me as well.

"What?!" I asked, stunned.

"You're lucky this turned out to be a real case. Because if it wasn't you both would have just found something else to kill." Sam said.

"What?" Dean scoffed.

"You're on edge, you're erratic - except for when you're hunting, because then you're both downright scary. Did you see yourselves with that vampire at the mill? You were both tail spinning. And you refuse to talk about it and you won't let me help you." Sam paused, looking between the two of us, breathing quickly.

"We can take care of ourselves, thanks." Dean said, turning angry eyes to Sam.

"No, you can't. And you know what? You're the only one who thinks you should have to. You guys don't have to handle this on your own, Dean, no one can." Sam said, pacing the pavement in front of us.

"The pair of you, honestly, you don't talk, to me, or anyone else. You've got it all bottled up inside and it's killing you both. Hell I don't even think you talk to each other about this – I mean you've talked to each other about everything since we were fifteen years old, but not this?" Sam stopped pacing and looked at us.

"Sam, if you bring up Dad's death one more time I swear..." Dean said, warningly.

"Stop. Please, Dean, Beth, it's killing you. Please." Sam said, reaching out to us with his hand. He took a breath and looked at us sternly.

"We've already lost Dad. We've lost Mom. I've lost Jessica. And now I'm going to lose you both too?" Sam looked heart broken. Dean shook his head, some kind of emotion passing through his eyes. He was antsy, looking around us. I stopped, thinking, fighting with myself.

Dean took my arm, and started walking toward the car. "We better get out of here before the cops come," he said, Sam trailed after us, frowning. I stopped Dean, holding his hand.

"Sammy, we hear you ok? We hear you. It's ok." I said giving him a quick hug. He returned the hug, just like when we were kids and I realised just how hard these past six weeks must have been on the not-so-little-anymore guy. He was our little brother and we'd cut him out, we'd cut each other out too – but I'd have to work on that later.

Dean stood watching, struggling with his emotions. I gave Dean a warning glance and he sighed. "Yeah, I'm being an ass. I'm sorry," he admitted, finally. "But right now we've got a friggin' zombie running around, and we need to figure out how to kill it."

Sam laughed, shaking his head and pulling back from me. "Our lives are weird," he said.

"You're telling me?" Dean chuckled before giving Sam a softer look. "Come on, let's go."

* * *

**Sam's Motel Room**

Dean was pacing the room, I was on the laptop, Sam on the bed with John's journal.

"We can't just waste it with a head shot?" Dean asked, looking at us both.

"Dude. You've been watching way too many Romero flicks." Sam said with a smirk.

"You're telling me there's no lore on how to smoke 'em?" Dean asked, throwing himself into a chair by the table where I was sitting.

"No, Dean, I'm saying there's too much. I mean, there's a hundred different legends on the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them." I said, looking up from the laptop. "Some say setting them on fire, others beheading will do the trick, uh, one said, where is it?" I scrolled down the page. "Ah, right here. _Feeding their hearts to wild dogs._ That's my personal favourite." I said, looking up with a grin, Dean shook his head at me like I was mad.

"So who knows what's real and what's myth?" Sam said, coming to join us at the table with the journal.

"Is there anything they all have in common?" Dean asked.

"No. But a few said silver might work." Sam answered, flipping through John's journal some more.

"Silver's a start," Dean said, nodding.

"Yeah. But now how are we going to find Angela?" Sam asked.

"We've got to figure out the person who brought her back." Dean said, simply.

"Any ideas?" Sam asked.

"I think it might be that guy Neil." I ventured.

"Neil?" They both said in unison.

"Yep," I said, standing to cross the room, picking up the little pink diary.

"How'd you come up with that?" Sam asked,

"You've got your journal, I've got mine," I said with a raised eyebrow. "And I know girls."

I flipped the diary open to the page I'd been reading just before I got on the laptop. "'_Neil's a real shoulder to cry on, he so understands what I'm going through with Matt._'" I quoted, looking at them. "There's more in here where that came from, it's got unrequited ducky love written all over it.."

"How do you know that?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You think I only keep a hunter's journal? This is practically what mine said about you from age 16 up until you came to your damn senses." I smirked and he gaped.

"You used to journal about me?" He asked with a smile.

"Well, you and Johnny Depp..." I teased with a grin, earning me a frown.

"Uh, guys... can we get back on track?" Sam asked, looking at both of us.

We both turned to him, shrugging, Dean shot me another amused look, shaking his head at what I'd just said.

"Just because it's unrequited ducky love doesn't mean he brought her back from the dead." Sam pointed out.

"Did I mention that he's Professor Mason's TA?" I asked with a smile. "Has access to all the same books."

This got their attention. We headed for the door, grabbing our jackets as we went.

"Hey," Dean said to me with a cheeky grin, "You still got any of those journals?"

I laughed, "Hell no!" I lied, "Burned them all years ago." He looked a little disappointed.

* * *

**Neil's House**

We let ourselves into the house, courtesy of the old credit card trick. The house was dark and quiet.

"Hello?" Dean called out, moving further in with us not far behind. "Neil?! It's your grief counsellors, we've come to hug!"

I snickered. Dean pulled out a gun and handed it to me, I looked at it while he brought out one for himself. Wasn't much point with Sam, he rarely carried. "Silver bullets?" I asked.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, enough to make her rattle like a change purse." I nodded approval.

We started moving through the house, Dean in the lead, gun out. I pointed out the wilted plants by the window and turned to see an entrance to the basement, a lock on the outside of the door – he had been keeping someone in.

"Unless it's where he keeps his porn..." Dean said with a chuckle.

Sam opened the door and Dean led the way down the stairs, Sam in the middle since he wasn't armed.

The room below was empty. "Sure looks like a zombie's den to me." Dean said, frowning.

"Yeah. An empty one. You think Angela's going after somebody?" Sam asked while Dean pulled at a loose grate in the wall. The cover came out, revealing an exit to outside the basement.

"Nah, I think she went out to rent Beaches." Dean quipped.

"Look, smart ass, she might kill someone. We gotta find her, Dean." Sam said.

"Yeah. All right, she, uh, she clipped Matt because he was cheating, right?" Dean asked, thinking.

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Well, it takes two to, you know, have hardcore sex." Dean said, and I tilted my head at him in amusement. "I don't know, it just seemed that, uh, Angela's roommate was broken up over Matt's death. I mean, like, really broken up."

"You know you might be on to something." I agreed.

* * *

**Angela's House**

We got to Angela's house in time to hear screaming. Angela was already here. The door was unlocked and Dean raced ahead of us. I turned a corner into the living room in time to see Dean pull the trigger, shooting Angela in the back three times. Angela had been about to stab Lindsey with a pair of scissors, now she was convulsing from the bullets fired into her. She spun around and snarled at Dean who shot her once more in the chest. She screamed, and turned to run out the open bay window in the living room, Dean hot on her heels.

I ran and checked on Lindsey. "Hey you ok? I got you," I said, and she looked relieved to see someone she recognised.

Dean came jogging back, slightly out of breath and shaking his head. "Damn, that dead chick can run." He said.

"What now?" Sam asked.

"I say we go have a little chat with Neil," Dean said, frowning and leading us back to the Impala.

Sam was flipping through John's journal again on the way to Neil's.

"So the silver bullets, they did something, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, something, but not enough. What else you got?" Dean asked, glancing over at him.

"Um, okay, besides silver we have nailing the undead back into their gravebeds. It's mentioned a few times. It's probably where the whole vampire staking lore comes from." Sam said.

"Their gravebeds? Are you serious?" I asked sceptically.

"Yeah." Sam confirmed.

"And how the hell are we going to get Angela back to the cemetery?" Dean asked.

* * *

**Neil's Office**

Neil was alone in his office when we arrived. He looked up startled at us, from behind his desk.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked, looking anxious.

"You know, I've heard of people doing some pretty desperate things to get laid, but you – you take the cake." Dean said with a wink, shaking his head and moving into the room.

"Okay. Who are you guys?" Neil asked, looking up at Dean standing over him.

"You might want to ask Angela that question." I said, crossing my arms.

"What?" Neil said, playing dumb.

"We know what you did. The ritual? Everything." Sam said quietly.

"You're crazy." Neil said looking at us, shaking his head.

"Your girlfriend's past her expiration date and we're crazy?" Dean asked, leaning across the desk at him.

"When someone's gone they should stay gone. You don't mess with that kind of stuff." Dean said, steely eyes on Neil. I swallowed, I didn't like the way Dean was talking, it was a little too close to home.

"Angela killed Matt. She tried to kill Lindsey." I said to Neil.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Neil said, shrugging slightly.

Dean lost his patience, stomping around to the other side of the desk, grabbing Neil by his collar and pulling him to his feet, getting in his face.

"Hey! No more crap, Neil. This blood is on your hands. Now. We can make this right, but you've gotta tell us where she is. Tell us!" Dean tried to reason with him.

Neil looked at him, tears in his eyes and a little shocked. "My house. She's at my house."

Dean let him go, then turned his gaze to a couple of dead plants by the window. He turned back to Neil.

"You sure about that?" He asked.

Neil nodded, looking around nervously. I looked past him, spotted a closet and nodded at it to Dean. He saw it too. Dean turned his head toward the closet, raising his voice.

"Listen. It doesn't really matter where she is. There's only one way to stop her. We've got to perform another ritual over her grave, to reverse the one that you did. We're going to need some black root, some, some scar weed, some candles... It's very complicated, but it'll get the job done. She'll be dead again in a couple hours. I think you should come with us."

He turned to look at Neil. "I'm serious Neil. Leave with us. Right now." Dean said in a quieter voice.

"No. No." Neil said, shaking his head.

Dean leaned in, lowering his voice again. "Listen to me. Get out of here as soon as you can. But most of all, be cool. No sudden movements. _Don't make her mad_." Neil's eyes widened at that last comment, but he still didn't change his mind about coming with us. Stupid boy.

"Come on," Dean finished, looking at Sam and I. "Let's go." We headed out the door, I wondered if she would take the bait.

* * *

**Cemetery (again!)**

We were decorating Angela's graves with white candles. I shook my head at the absurdity of it all.

"You really think this is going to work?" I asked, looking over at Dean.

"No, not really. But it was the only thing I could come up with." He said, with a chuckle.

I smiled, well usually it was his hair-brained off-the-cuff schemes that worked the best anyway.

A noise sounded and we were all instantly alert. Sam stood, pulling a gun from the small of his back and headed to investigate. He disappeared into the trees, and was gone from sight. Dean and I waited, listening for any indication of what was happening.

Suddenly we saw Sam come running through the graves out of the tree line. Angela tackled him to the ground and he landed hard with a grunt. Angela climbed on his back, grabbing his head and twisting it back.

"Hey!" I shouted, taking aim and shooting at her. She startled, jumping off Sam and moving back from us. Dean and I both shot her several more times until she fell down the open grave that we'd been leading her toward. Dean raced toward the grave, pulling a long metal stake from his belt, sliding along on his knees as he reached the edge, jumping down and pinning Angela with it into her coffin. She screamed, struggling, and then went limp.

I stopped at the grave side, looking down at Dean, trying to catch my breath.

"What's dead should stay dead." Dean said resolutely, turning to look at me.

I sighed and fell silent, not wanting to think about that.

Dawn came and we were just finishing up covering the grave over. I ran some of the dirt through my hand, reflecting on the girl underneath us and the horror she had become.

"Rest in peace," I said quietly.

"Yeah. For good this time, ok?" Dean quipped, shaking his head.

We all stood, turning for the car, Sam swinging a shovel over his shoulder with a grunt.

"You know, that whole fake ritual thing, luring Angela into the cemetery? Pretty sharp." Sam said.

"Thanks," Dean said, grinning.

"But did we have to use me as bait?" Sam complained, looking at his wrist.

"I figured you were more her type. You know, she had pretty crappy taste in guys." Dean retorted.

"I think she broke my hand," Sam said, and I looked over a little worried at that.

Dean laughed. "You're just too fragile. We'll take you to get it looked at next."

We passed Mary's grave and Dean paused to look back.

"You want to stay for a while?" I asked, looking over at him.

"No." Dean said quietly and started walking again. "Let's get Sam to the hospital, then we can get out of here."

* * *

**Motel Room**

Sam was still at the hospital, getting his broken wrist fixed up. Dean and I had come back to get the rest of our things.

I was pacing in the room, feeling antsy and anxious, all kinds of emotions coming to the surface in such a short amount of time.

Dean looked at me and frowned. "What's wrong?" He asked and I stopped mid-stride to look at him.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, tears coming to my eyes.

"What for?" He asked, coming to stand near me, hands on my arms and looking at me with worried eyes.

"The way I've been acting, for being... I don't know... hard to reach?" I brushed a tear out of my eye. "And for Dad..." I said with a shuddering sigh.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, frowning.

"Well you know, I just... so much happened while we were in the hospital and I'm tired Dean, and I can't hold it in any longer, it's killing me."

"Look," Dean said, leading me to the bed and sitting us at the end of it. "I know you've been thinking it – so have I. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. I made a full recovery. It was a miracle. So did you. And like an hour later after I get better, Dad is dead and the colt is gone." I nodded.

"Dean..." I said, voice breaking, wanting to tell him so badly.

"You can't tell me there's not a connection there." He said, looking at me. I shook my head. "And I know you know more than you're telling me."

I glanced up at him, watery eyes and sadness showing through. I nodded slowly and he sighed, pulling me to him and holding me against his chest.

"I think the demon was involved. I don't know how the whole thing went down exactly. But Dad's dead because of me. That much I do know." Dean said, swallowing hard and pulling back to look me in the eyes again. I nodded slowly, and he sighed.

"It's not your fault Beth, whatever Dad did, it's not your fault." Dean said, looking at me concerned.

"I should have stopped it. I should have done something Dean." I whispered.

"You know better than anyone that there was no stopping Dad once he set his mind on something," Dean said, I bit my lip to stop it from trembling.

"Beth, you're the most important person in my life, you think I could be doing this, getting through any of this if you weren't here?" He looked at me and there was so much love in those eyes, love I didn't deserve.

Sadness flicked across them as he looked at me. "I never should have come back, Beth. It wasn't natural. And now look what's come of it. I was dead. I should have stayed dead." I was shaking my head frantically at him, tears running down my cheeks.

"Well then maybe we should both be dead, you know I can't explain how I'm here, maybe it was our time... I feel so... empty. Like there's this big hole inside of me and nothing is going to fill it, and you and me..." I grasped at his hands, closing my eyes. "...are we ever going to be ok again?"

He frowned, moving to kneel in front of me on the bed. "What do you mean?" He asked, looking up me.

"I just feel like … he's gone Dean, and I'm so selfish because instead of mourning him like I should be, I'm just happy that it's him and not you, because I don't know how I could go on without you, and it tears me up inside because _he was my Dad too, _and I love him, and..." Dean kissed me and it broke my rambling. It felt so achy, to have those lips on mine once more, kissing me softly, lovingly, as if all my sins were forgiven, when there was only a black pit of despair in my stomach.

He pushed me back on the bed, sliding up to beside me, left hand brushing the hair out of my eyes, his right hand trailed up under my top along my bare skin, drawing a shudder from me. Leaning into me his soft lips kissed along my jawline and moved down to my neck, I sighed and closed my eyes, revelling in the touch that we'd not really indulged in since John's death.

"It's ok to feel that Beth," he said quietly against my skin.

His hand moved under me to my lower back, pulling me into him a bit until we were pressed against each other, my arms coming up around his neck, and draping behind him as I moaned in response to his attentions.

With experienced hands he unhooked my bra, and then tugged at the back of my shirt, pulling it up and over my head. I quickly discarded the bra, and in turn slid my hands under the shirt he was wearing over his t-shirt, slipping it off his shoulders. He groaned and quickly removed his t-shirt to join it, the warmth of his bare skin now under my palms as I slid them over his chest.

Dean pulled me with him to stand up, reaching out to hold my face between his hands as he caught my lower lip between his own lips, sucking on it before sliding his tongue in to caress mine. I moaned softly as I started to lose myself in the kiss.

He broke away, tears in his own eyes. He looked at me mournfully, and I realised we'd been fighting the same thing. Guilt. Guilt that we were happy to be alive. Guilt that we had survived, somehow, while our Dad was dead.

I nodded, fresh out of words, tears forming and he shook his head as if to tell me not to cry, leaning in to kiss me once more. This time it was a little more urgent, as if the months of grieving had left us with so much time to make up for.

Trailing my hands down I unhooked his belt, and pushed his pants, boxers and all down to the ground, suddenly I needed to just feel him, it had been so long that we'd been together like this. He met my urgency with his own groan, quickly discarding my own jeans, and then gasping when I took his cock in my hand, sliding my hand along it. He was already half way there, and he shuddered at my touch.

"God I've missed you," He said, sliding his hands around to my butt, pulling me closely against him, I dropped my hand and pressed my thigh against his groin, his arousal pressing against my hip as I slowly rubbed against it.

"I need you Dean." I whispered, kissing him again, urgent, desperate. He picked up the pace, kissing me deeper, longer, and I felt the ache in my heart start to melt.

I pulled him back down on the bed with me and he positioned himself over me, reaching a hand down to stroke between my legs, finding that hard nob and dragging his finger across it. I arched up with a groan, grinding against his hand, closing my eyes and throwing my head back.

"God Dean..." I moaned. He was watching me, hesitant for a moment, and I looked at him. He looked as vulnerable as I felt and I reached for him, pulling him down to me so that he was lying along my body, he supported himself, but there was still the weight of him pressing against me, hot and turned on.

"I need to feel us Dean, I need to know we're still alive." I said, looking at him and he pressed his forehead against mine, nodding slightly. He slid a hand between my legs, forcing them open, I felt him hover over me and then press inside with his hard arousal, I groaned as I felt him sink deep. When he was all the way in, I wrapped my legs around his waist, arching up to meet his rocking.

He thrust into me with long, slow movements, I moaned with each apex and looked up at him. His eyes were dark with desire. I pushed him on to his back, keeping him inside of me as we rolled in one smooth motion. He groaned, looking up at me as I took control, sitting back, running my hands along his firm chest. I leaned down and took a nipple in between my lips, teasing it with my tongue and then biting softly but firmly drawing a shuddering breath followed by a guttural moan.

I started to rock against him, a little faster as we lost ourselves in the moment. As I started to peak, he sat up forcing me to shift in order to keep him inside me, wrapping my legs around his waist, sitting in his lap, feeling him fully ensconced inside. It was a new feeling, so intimate, and felt amazing.

Looking deep into his eyes I saw all the hurt and pain he'd been feeling trapped inside there. I felt the tears flow as I rocked into him, it was slow, agonising, and the most incredible feeling of closeness. He seemed to know how much I needed it.

"I need you," he whispered, that was all I wanted to hear and he was kissing my tears away as they flowed.

I shivered as his hands softly trailed down to my buttocks, splaying one hand across the small of my back and holding me firmly against him as he moved me against him, guiding me in small almost circular movements. The closeness caused everything to be heightened, I moved just slightly back and forth in his lap, my breasts pressed to his chest, nipples tightening and brushing against him.

My mouth I trailed just over his lips, letting him listen to the small gasps of pleasure as each rock shot a wave of pleasure through my body. He watched me, eyes dilated, hungry, a small smile touching his lips as he saw just how turned on I was, how close I was to falling over the edge.

A few more thrusts and he slid a hand down between us, applying just a little pressure against my clit as he kept the rhythmic, slow rocking between us. Each little movement caused me to groan, gasping in pleasure. When I thought I couldn't bare it any longer I started to buck a little harder against him.

I pulled him closer to me, feeling his body pressed along mine, his mouth buried in my neck. He picked up on the urgency and using the hand at my back, thrust up into me, pulling me down simultaneously. He pushed up with a little more desperation, moaning into my shoulder. I felt waves of ecstasy start to wash over me, as he helped me rock. I tried to pull back, to ride them but he kept me tightly against him. It seemed to intensify the whole thing.

He was so far inside me, pushed up against that spot that only he knew how and where to access, and I shuddered, my whole body trembling as a warmth travelled from my groin and out. I cried out, with short erratic breaths, starting to throw my head back. He tangled his free hand in my hair, holding my head, forcing me to look into his eyes, watching as I trembled and tried to catch my breath.

When I stopped shuddering he kissed me, long and slow, with a tenderness that belied the feel of him pulsing inside of me. He shifted me off him, lifting me effortlessly to the bed, back against the mattress. Positioned on top he slid back into me, thrusting with a fast, rhythmic motion. He was close, pushing deeper, groaning with each thrust. Then with a hard, jerking motion he spilled inside me, collapsing into my arms with a groan, still moving slowly against me until the throbbing stopped.

We lay this way for a moment, his mouth pressed into my shoulder as he fought to steady his breathing. I fought the tears but they were back and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders tightly, burying my face in his neck and letting them silently fall.

He pulled back, a concerned look on his face."What's wrong?" He asked.

"Nothing. Nothing." I said, shaking my head, wiping away the tears from my face. He looked as if he didn't believe me and I smiled.

"I love you so much," I whispered, looking up at him. He softened at that, relaxing.

"You're a shmuck," he whispered with a little laugh. He kissed me lightly, just the barest of touches as his lips brushed against mine.

"I love you too Beth. I always have." He said quietly.

Maybe it was enough. Somehow maybe it was enough to get us through the guilt, to get us past the despair, to start building a life together again where we could allow ourselves to feel again.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

This chapter's song is _Dear Agony _by Breaking Benjamin

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Next up – mind control takes on a whole new level!

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Thanks to everyone who has either left a review or PM'ed me – I really appreciate what everyone has to say, and enjoy the conversations :)

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P.S. There won't be smut like this every chapter, I'd already written this way before I asked the question last night! But I will be bringing back some of the more playful affection from earlier chapters in _Highway to Hell _as the healing begins on all levels for our lovely couple :)

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Welcome to all the new followers – hope you're enjoying the story – please leave me a message and tell me what you think!

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Oh, and shout out to one of my other favourite series _True Blood _with the "must be Thursday" comment Beth says. I saw that line in Season 5 TB and just peed myself laughing, I've been saying it ever since! Quote: "A 3000 year old vampire wants to suck my blood, it must be Thursday!" - Sookie Stackhouse


	6. Simon Said

_Please tell me, please tell me why__  
__My car is in the front yard,__  
__and I'm sleeping with my clothes on__  
__Came in through the window last night__  
__And you're gone__  
__Gone__  
__It's no surprise to me I am my own worst enemy__  
__'Cause every now and then I kick the living shit out of me_

* * *

**SIMON SAID**

* * *

**Somewhere in Nebraska**

It was 9 o'clock at night, we were driving down some deserted highway, mist all over the place. All I could think about was that I would take some dingy motel room and couple hours of good rest over having to listen to Dean and Sam debating our next move, which they were doing, again, in the front seat.

Dean had gone to collect Sam from the bathroom at the last gas station we'd been at, and they'd been at it ever since. Sam thought he was having another premonition about a man going into a gun store, shooting someone, and then committing suicide. Dean wasn't convinced, so was arguing. Just another day in Winchester land.

"I don't know, man, why don't we just chill out, think about this." Dean said, looking at his brother, concerned.

"What's there to think about?" Sam asked, shutting off the radio which had been barking at us for the last twenty miles.

"I just don't know if going to the Roadhouse is the smartest idea." Dean said.

"Dean, it's another premonition. I know it. This is gonna happen, and Ash can tell us where." Sam argued.

"Yeah, man, but..." Dean was really hesitant on this one, I could see it in the set of his jaw. I wondered what was going on inside that head of his.

"Plus it could have some connection with the demon. My visions always do." Sam pointed out.

"That's my point. There's gonna be hunters there, I don't know if, if, if going in and announcing that you're some supernatural freak with a, a demonic connection is the best thing, okay?" Dean said worriedly, and there it was.

"So I'm a freak now?" Sam asked, offended.

Dean laughed and slapped Sam on the thigh. "You've always been a freak." Sam didn't look convinced, going back to sulking. Dean sighed and gunned the engine, I noted that we were still heading in the direction of the Roadhouse.

* * *

**Harvelle's Roadhouse  
****Nebraska****  
**

The Roadhouse was a hive of activity when we got there, trucks parked out front, even a couple of bikes which I eyed off with a sigh. Dean noticed the look and came over to slide his hands around my waist, leaning me back against him, chin on my shoulder.

"How about we swing past Idaho at some point?" He asked, referring to my own bike which had been locked up in storage for the better part of a year. I bit my lip, that part of me seemed a million miles behind me.

"Yeah, maybe." I said thoughtfully, I'd actually just been considering selling the thing, but I couldn't bring myself to, so it just sat in storage waiting for the day when I came to collect it.

"You ok?" He asked, picking up on the tension building inside me.

"Yeah, I guess. Just a little tired." I said, leaning back into him some more.

He placed a few hot kisses in the crook of my neck and I smiled.

"We'll find a place to stop for a few days soon." He said, pulling back and placing his hand at the small of my back to guide me toward the bar. "Now, you're not going to go all green-eyed on Jo are you?" He asked, and I raised an eyebrow. The last few times we'd been to the Roadhouse, the blonde had been discreet, but it was still clear as day that she had a growing crush on Dean.

"Who me?" I asked innocently and he shook his head with a chuckle.

I stopped in front of the bar's entrance to give him a kiss on the cheek. "Well now that depends," I said with a smile.

"On what?" Dean asked, stepping beside me and opening the door.

"On whether she bested my score on the game while we were away," I smirked. Jo and I had a little ongoing rivalry now over an arcade shooter game in the bar.

Dean shook his head with a smile and went first into the bar. A couple of men looked up at our arrival, but for the most part it was as if we were ignored. Of course we weren't, people just didn't make it obvious they were assessing the newcomers on the scene.

I headed for the bar, almost running into Jo as she walked past with an empty tray.

"Oh hey Beth," she smiled and I smiled back at her. She looked over at Dean and raised her eyebrow. "Just can't stay away, huh?" She said to him.

I rolled my eyes behind her back at Dean and he looked at me with a warning glance. "Yeah, looks like. How you doing, Jo?"

Sam pushed in behind us, looking anxious and hurried. "Where's Ash?" He interrupted.

"In the back room." Jo said with a frown.

"Great..." Sam muttered brushing past us all and heading for the back room.

"And... I'm fine..." Jo muttered looking back at him.

"Sorry, he's... we're... kind of on a bit of a timetable," Dean said, looking slightly uncomfortable with the blonde's stare. I chuckled and followed Sam, glancing back to see Dean shuffle his feet and then make his excuses, walking toward me.

Ash had a sign on the door which always made me laugh, because he was far from what it claimed. At the moment it read: "Dr Badass is: IN" but it could be interchanged with "out" when he wasn't in the room.

"Ash?" Sam knocked on the door. "Hey, Ash?" There was no response.

I shook my head and stepped up to the door, knocking a couple of times and looking at the boys. "Hey, Dr. Badass?" I said and the door was opened almost immediately.

Ash opened the door just a crack to look out at us, he was completely butt naked, and I quickly averted my eyes – I didn't want to see that.

"Sam? Dean? Beth? The three amigos." Ash said with a smile, nodding at Sam.

"Hey Ash. Um. We need your help." Sam said quietly to him.

"Well, hell then. Guess I need my pants." Ash said with a grin, not moving.

"Pants would be good." I prompted, nodding. The door shut, leaving us in the hall.

I sighed. Well if I wasn't getting any sleep, I was going to have a drink.

* * *

I'd grabbed us all a beer while we waited for Ash to get dressed and join us. We were now sitting in a much more deserted bar as the night wore on.

Ash had his laptop open on a table and Sam was sitting across from him. I was on his other side looking over his shoulder while Dean paced behind us.

"Well, I got a match. It's the logo from the Blue Ridge bus lines in Guthrie, Oklahoma." Ash said, looking at the symbol Sam had described to us, now up on the screen.

"OK. Do me a favour – check Guthrie for any demonic signs or omens, or anything like that?" Sam asked.

"You think the demon's there?" Ash questioned, tapping away on his laptop.

"Yeah, maybe." Sam said.

"Why would you think that?" Ash asked.

"Just check it, all right?" Dean asked impatiently. Ash threw him a look with attitude, but he didn't argue, bringing up the demon tracking software he'd created.

"No sir, nothing. No demon." Ash said after a few seconds of checking the screen.

"All right, try something else for me. Search Guthrie for a house fire. It would be 1983, fire's origin would be a baby's nursery, night of the kid's six month birthday." Sam said, leaning forward.

Ash looked a little startled and Dean glanced around to see if we had been overheard. The only person anywhere near us was Jo, cleaning a table and watching us curiously.

"OK, now that is just weird, man. Why the hell would I be looking for that?" Ash asked with a frown.

Sam slid his untouched beer across to Ash with a knowing look.

"Because there's a PBR in it for ya." He said.

"Give me thirty minutes." Ash said with a determined look, taking the beer in hand.

Twenty minutes later I was looking at the dartboard with a bit of consideration. Sam was with me, and we were arguing the rules of our old dart game we'd created as teens.

"No, I'm fairly certain it was the _red _sections that doubled the score Sam," I said, frowning.

"No way, it was the black Beth." Sam argued.

"Well red makes more sense," I muttered and Sam looked at me curious.

"How do you figure?" He smirked.

I shook my shoulders. "Red is faster?" I asked, with an uncertain look. Frankly it just looked better to me.

"No, red was for deficit remember? You hit a red and you lose half your points?" I sighed, looking at all my darts firmly embedded in red squares.

"Whatever," I muttered. Sam laughed and pulled the darts out.

Suddenly there was the sounds of REO Speedwagon's _Can't Fight This Feeling _playing over the jukebox. I glanced back to see Jo step back and cast a look over at Dean who was sitting at the bar. Dean looked up from his beer with a curious expression on his face.

Jo picked up a tray from the table beside her and walked over, putting it on the bar and looking over at Dean. I shook my head at Sam with a smile.

"What?" Jo asked, looking at Dean's expression.

"REO Speedwagon?" Dean asked with an amused tone.

"Damn right REO. Kevin Cronin sings it from the heart." Jo said with a nod, tapping her chest once.

"He sings it from the _hair. _There's a difference." Dean said taking a sip of his beer.

Jo paused, casting a glance over at her mother, who was at the other end of the bar, cleaning glasses. "That profile you've got Ash looking for?" Jo said, moving toward him.

"Hmm." Dean nodded.

"Your mom died the same way, didn't she? A fire in Sam's nursery?" This caught my attention and I frowned at Sam, interest in our game suddenly gone – his expression showed the same thing. He walked off to sit with Ash again, and wait out the remainder of the search, while I paused, watching the interaction between Jo and Dean.

"Look, Jo, it's kind of a family thing." Dean said in response to Jo's question.

"I could help." Jo offered with a smile. I wandered over to the bar, standing a few feet behind Dean and finishing off my beer.

"I'm sure you could. But we've got to handle this one ourselves." Dean said, shifting in his chair. "Besides, if I ran off with you I think your mother might kill me." He looked up and smiled nervously at Ellen, who was looking over at them, she gave him a confused look because she couldn't quite hear what was being said. Jo glanced back at her and I put my empty bottle on the bar with a bit of a thud, Dean's back stiffened.

"You're afraid of my mother?" Jo asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at Dean.

Dean glanced at Ellen and chuckled. "I think so." He said with a smile. He then looked back at where I was leaning casually on the bar. "I'm more scared of her though." He admitted with a nod in my direction and I tilted my head with a little smile.

Sam came hurrying up behind Jo, looking at us both urgently. "We have a match. We've gotta go!"

"All right." Dean said pushing away from the bar. He looked at the blonde who appeared disappointed. "See ya later Jo."

We moved toward the door and then I heard Jo's voice call out. "Hey Beth! You forgot to check the scores." I narrowed my eyes and figured she'd beaten my score. I glanced over at the machine but Dean was pulling on my arm with a chuckle. I grinned and waved at her.

"Next time!" I called back with a smile and she waved, returning the smile. She wasn't that bad of a kid, I didn't mind her, couldn't have been easy growing up the way she did either. I looked at Dean's ass as he headed for the Impala, and I couldn't exactly begrudge her little crush either, not one little bit.

* * *

Half an hour later we were rocketing down the highway toward Oklahoma.

Sam and Dean were in the front seat, like most days, and Dean was singing acapella.

"_And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight, You're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter night, And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might..._" I reached forward and hit him in the back of the head, getting a glare from him in the mirror.

"You're kidding, right?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. I actually liked the song, definitely didn't mind it coming out of Dean's mouth, but there was still that little green monster digging around in me.

Dean grimaced. "I dunno, I can't get it out of my head!" He turned to Sam, changing the subject. "Whaddya got?"

Sam was flipping through a stack of papers, reading. "Andrew Gallagher. Born in '83, like me. Lost his mother in a nursery fire exactly six months later, also like me."

"You think the demon killed his mom?" I asked, leaning forward.

"Sure looks like it." Sam answered.

"How did you even know to look for this guy?" Dean asked, glancing over.

"Every premonition I've had, if they're not about the demon they're about the other kids the demon visited. Like Max Miller, remember him?" Sam asked. I grimaced, how could I forget, he'd nearly killed Dean, I shuddered just thinking about it.

"Yeah, but Max Miller was a pasty little psycho," Dean said, obviously not affected by the memory.

"The point is he was killing people. And I was having the same type of visions about him. And now it could be happening all over again with this Gallagher guy." Sam said.

"How do we find him?" I asked, looking at Sam.

"Don't know. No current address, no current employment. He still owes money on all his bills - phone, credit, utilities..." Sam said, looking at a couple of the printouts.

"Collection agency flags?" Dean asked.

"None in the system." Sam said.

"They just let him take a walk?" Dean said, frowning. That didn't sound right.

"Seems like it." Sam said with a shrug. "There's a work address from his last W-2, about a year ago. Let's start there."

* * *

**Coffee Shop  
****_Guthrie, Oklahoma_**

I grinned, looking over at Dean and Sam in their fancy suits, sitting at the table getting coffees poured for them by a waitress. I adjusted my own jacket and skirt, glancing up at the specials board, debating whether I was hungry or not.

"You won't get anything out of Andy, guys. I'm sorry, but they never do." The waitress said, stepping back from pouring the coffee.

"'They'?" Sam asked, curious.

"You're debt collectors, right? Once in a while they come by. I don't know what Andy says to them, but they never come back." She said, looking at them both. I decided I wasn't hungry and joined in the conversation.

"Actually we're lawyers. Representing his Great Aunt Leta." I said, taking a seat next to Dean.

Dean nodded. "She passed, God rest her soul, and left Andy a sizable estate."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "So are you a friend of his... Tracy?" Sam made it a point to look at her name tag.

"I used to be, yeah. I don't see much of Andy any more." She said, looking a little sad.

"Andy?" A red haired bus boy asked, walking past and overhearing the conversation. "Andy kicks ass, man." He said, sitting down at our table with a smile.

"Is that right?" Dean asked, looking curious.

"Yeah. Andy can get you into anything. He even got me backstage at Aerosmith once, it was beautiful, bro." He was just a little too comfortable sitting at a customer's table, leaning forward and chatting like we were old friends, I looked at Dean and saw he had an amused look on his face too, I wasn't the only one who thought this was odd.

"How about bussing a table or two, Webber?" Tracy asked, giving him a pointed look.

"Yeah. You bet, boss." Webber stood up, grabbing Dean's empty coffee cup and walking away.

"Look, if you want to find him, try Orchard Street. Just look for a van with a barbarian queen painted on the side." Tracy informed us with a smile.

"Barbarian queen?" Dean asked.

"She's riding a polar bear." Tracey said with raised eyebrows. "It's kind of hard to miss." Indeed.

* * *

**Orchard Street  
****_Guthrie, Oklahoma_**  


Dean pulled the Impala up near the aforementioned van, you definitely couldn't miss it. Dark blue, well detailed, and with the barbarian queen on it,polar bear and all. I tried to decide if actually liked the warrior woman or whether it served to put women's rights back about fifty years. I couldn't arrive at an answer.

"I'm sorry, I'm starting to like this dude. That van is sweet." Dean said, staring at it in the side mirror.

Sam was sitting silently in the front seat, looking pensive. I frowned.

"What's wrong Sam?" I asked, reaching forward to pat his shoulder.

"Nothing." Sam replied, but his expression didn't change.

"Sam, you look like you're sucking on a lemon, what's going on?" Dean said with a smirk.

"This Andrew Gallagher, he's the second guy like this we've found, Dean. Demon came to them when they were kids, now they're killing people." Sam said, looking a little worried, I suppose he had a right to be a little worried about that – so far the odds weren't weighing in our favour, but still, John had always taught me not to read into things that weren't there, so I tried to keep that in mind.

"We don't know what Andrew Gallagher is, ok? He could be innocent." I said reassuringly.

"My visions haven't been wrong yet," Sam said firmly, looking over at me.

Dean sighed and exchange a brief glance with me. "What's your point?"

"My point is, I'm one of them." Sam said, nodding at the van.

"No, you're not." Dean argued.

"Dean, the demon said he had plans for me and children like me," Sam said.

"Yeah?" Dean asked, not buying into where Sam was headed with this discussion.

"Yeah, maybe this is his plan, maybe we're all a bunch of psychic freaks, maybe we're all supposed to be — " He stopped, not finishing the sentence.

"What, killers?" Dean said it for him.

"Yeah," Sam sighed.

"So the demon wants you out there killing with your minds, is that it? Oh give me a break." Dean scoffed. I nodded.

"You're not a murderer, Sam! You don't have it in your bones," I said, looking at him.

"No? Last I checked, I kill all kinds of things." Sam argued, still looking pensive and anxious.

"Those things were asking for it. There's a difference." Dean stated simply and I shook my head at his simplicity.

We all fell silent, lost in our own thoughts. Dean went back to staring into the mirror at the van behind us, I was watching Sam, wondering about what he'd said.

Suddenly the door to a house nearby opened and a young man walked out wearing pyjamas and a black long satin robe embroidered with dragons.

"Got him." Sam said, nodding at the man.

A window above him opened and a beautiful leggy blonde sat on the window sill, half naked, and waving down to him with a smile. Andy looked up at her and blew her a kiss. He turned and started walking, greeting a man on the street. We watched as the man handed him his coffee and kept walking. I frowned, that was weird. Andy reached the end of the street and met an older dark-skinned man, shaking his had and smiling as they talked.

"That's him," Sam said quickly. "That old guy, that's him, that's the shooter."

"All right, you keep on him, we'll stick with Andy. Go." Dean said and Sam scrambled to get out of the car and I climbed in the front taking his place.

Andy got in his van and drove off, Dean put the car into gear and followed. We went down a few streets and then Andy stopped the van in the middle of the road. Dean and I exchanged a curious glance, coming to a stop and he picked up the gun between us on the seat, tucking it into his jacket.

"Hey!" Andy said in a friendly tone, coming up to talk to Dean through his open window.

"Hey, hey," Dean said with an uncomfortable smile.

"This is a cheery ride." Andy said, looking over the Impala with appreciation.

Dean nodded, smiling from ear to ear. "Yeah, thanks."

"Man, the '67? Impala's best year if you ask me. This is a serious classic." I frowned, this hardly looked like a cold-blooded killer talking to us.

"Yeah." Dean agreed, still smiling. "You know, I just rebuilt her too."

"Yeah?" Andy asked.

"Yeah, can't let a car like this one go." Dean said, shaking his head.

"Damn straight." Andy nodded, then he looked at Dean. "Hey. Can I have it?" I balked, was he serious?

"Sure, man." Dean said without hesitation.

"What? Dean!" I said, reaching out for him.

"It's ok," Andy said to me, "you want to come for a ride with me?"

Suddenly I felt like yeah, that was a great idea. Let's go for a ride, enjoy the day. "Uh, yeah, yeah that would be great." I said with a smile.

Dean nodded, smiling and got out of the car.

"Sweet," Andy smiled, getting into Dean's vacated seat.

"Hop right in there. There ya go." Dean said, closing the door behind him.

"Take it easy," Andy said with a smile.

"All right," Dean smiled back. Then Andy put the car into gear and drove off. I looked back at Dean standing in the middle of the street. He looked confused, but that was ok, he often did.

"Sooo..." Andy said with a smile, "What's your name?"

"Beth," I answered, sitting back in my seat with a smile. "So where are we going?"

"Anywhere you want to go," Andy said with a suggestive look.

I started to feel a little hazy, and shook my head, frowning. I looked around and had to wonder, where had Dean gone?

"Uh, where's Dean?" I asked, confused.

Andy looked over and tilted his head. "Don't worry about him. We're going to have a little fun, all right? Just relax, you don't need to worry, you'll enjoy it."

I nodded, feeling a calm wash over me all of a sudden, I could use a little fun in my life, this sounded like a great idea.

We were driving down main street and I saw Sam standing by the side of the road, watching as the Impala caught his eye. I stuck my head out the window and waved at him with a smile. "Hi Sam!"

He turned to stare, mouth hanging open as we kept driving down the street.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

My phone was ringing and I answered it, hoping to god it was Beth. It wasn't.

"_Dean!" _Sam's voiced came over the phone at me urgently. "_Andy's got the Impala! Beth was with him!" _

"I know!" I shouted back, starting to panic. "He just sorta asked me for it and I, I let him take it."

"_You what?" _Sam asked.

"He full-on Obi-wanned me. It's mind control man! And he took Beth with him!" I was furious, when I found that little upstart I was gonna kick his ass. "So help me Sam if he does anything to her I will kill him, I will kill him with my own bare hands! Where are you?"

"_A block from where you left me." _Sam said and I nodded to myself hanging up the phone. I started jogging back toward the main street, wondering just where on earth we were going to start looking for Beth.

I found Sam by the dead body of the guy he'd identified as the shooter – apparently he'd just been hit by a bus. Sam looked like he was sucking on a lemon again. I crouched down, looking at the body as it was being zipped into a body bag.

"I kept him out of the gun store," Sam said, frowning. "I thought he was ok. I thought he was past it, at least..." He trailed off, doing the whole pained Sammy kicking himself routine. "I should have stayed with him."

"Yeah well... you didn't. We know better now. So pull yourself together man, we gotta find Beth." Sam nodded and stood up.

I looked up and down the street. "Which way did they go?" Sam pointed and we started to jog along the pavement.

We were three blocks down when I heard her.

"Dean!" Beth called out from behind me. She rounded a corner and was jogging back toward us.

"Jesus, Beth!" I said, running up to her. "Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?" I asked, checking her over. She shook her head, looking dazed.

"No... I'm fine." She said, grabbing at my arms, looking at me with relief. "We were just driving along and then he got this call, and he freaked out and pulled over, told me to get out. What happened, where did you go?"

I sighed and pulled her into my arms, the reality of what had just happened, and what might have happened starting to seep into my bones.

"He's using mind control." Sam said, frowning and Beth looked surprised, but then the realisation hit her too and I saw the same horror I was feeling cross her face. She turned to me and looked up, those big brown eyes of chocolate speaking volumes. I sighed again, leaning my forehead against hers. How was I going to keep her safe now?

We found the Impala ten minutes later, parked down a side street. For the second time today I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Thank god!" I said, crossing the road quickly, pulling Beth with me by the hand. "Oh, I'm sorry baby. I'll never leave you again." I said to the car, running my free hand along the roof. I looked in the window, turning back to Beth and Sam with a smile. "Well at least he left the keys in it."

"Yeah." Sam smirked. "Real Samaritan, this guy." Beth stifled a laugh.

"Well, it looks like he can't work his mojo just by twitching his nose, he's got to use verbal commands." I said, leaning against the car.

"The doctor had just gotten off his cell phone when he stepped in front of that bus." Sam said, looking pained. "Andy must have called him or something."

"I don't know Sam, I don't remember him making a phone call," Beth said with a frown.

"Well maybe he made it before he stopped you guys... or after he dropped you off," Sam said, reaching.

"I don't know," I said, thinking about the time lapse.

"Beg your pardon?" Sam asked, looking at me. I frowned at him.

"I just don't know if he's our guy, Sam," I answered him, something didn't sit right with me in my gut.

"Dean, you had O.J. convicted before he got out of his white Bronco and you have doubts about this?" Sam asked incredulously.

"He just doesn't seem like the stone-cold killer type, that's all. You know, had he done anything to Beth... well I'd kill him myself, but he let her go. The car's ok too." I reasoned, then I looked at him with a stare. "And O.J was guilty!"

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Either way, how are we going to track this guy down?"

"Well he's not exactly driving an inconspicuous ride." I pointed out and Sam had to agree, I was totally right on that one. Next to the Impala, it was the next best thing I'd seen in town.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

The van we found parked in a quiet neighbourhood after about an hour of driving around. Dean was right on to it as we approached from the back.

"Let's take a look," Dean said pulling out the small crowbar he had hidden in his jacket. He pried open the back door and we all gaped at the interior. It was a like something out of the 80s... or a porn show... maybe an 80s porn show.

There was a bed, decked out in fur rugs, a beaded curtain separated the cab from the rear, a magnificent tiger painting on the wall, some few thick first edition books, all topped off with an honest-to-goodness disco ball hanging from the ceiling spinning around and shining light over the interior.

"Oh. Oh come on. This is... this is magnificent, that's what this is," Dean breathed a big sigh of appreciation and I shook my head in amusement. Those fur rugs did look very tempting though, I filed that away for a later date casting an appraising eye at Dean.

Dean was still admiring the van. "Not exactly a serial killer's lair, though. There's no clown paintings on the walls, or scissors stuck in victims' photos." He pointed out.

"I like the tiger," I said with a grin and Sam rolled his eyes, looking over the books.

"Hegel, Kant, Wittgenstein? That's some pretty heavy reading." Sam said back at us.

"Yeah, and uh, and Moby Dick's bong." Dean said picking up the biggest bong I'm sure we'd ever seen and holding it out for us to see.

Hours later and we were still waiting for Andy to come back for the van. I'd taken a walk around the corner and returned with a few things to eat. Sam had gone off to get paperwork on the man who had been hit by a bus. Now we were in the waiting zone. Dean finished off the remains of a burger and grunted, tossing the foil wrapper into the bag I had on the back seat for trash.

"Ugh. You know, one day I'd love to just sit down and eat something that we didn't have to microwave at a minimart." Dean grumbled. I looked at my own sandwich and kind of agreed.

Sam wasn't listening, completely absorbed in whatever he was reading.

"What I don't get is the motive. I mean, the doctor was squeaky clean, why would Andy waste him?" Sam asked.

"If it is Andy," Dean said, still not convinced.

"Dude, enough." Sam grumbled at him.

"What?" Dean asked, looking over at him.

"The doctor was mind-controlled in front of a bus. Andy just happens to have the power of mind control. You do the math." Sam said.

Dean shrugged and I was inclined to agree with him. "I just don't think the guy's got it in him, that's all." Dean said, turning around to look at me. I shrugged, I wasn't completely sold on it either way, but there was the puzzling issue that I hadn't seen him make a call while I'd been in the car with him.

"Well, how the hell would you know? I mean, why are you bending over backwards defending him? He took off with Beth in the car!" Sam said stubbornly.

"Because you're not right about this!" Dean said, shaking his head.

"About Andy?" Sam asked.

Suddenly someone slammed their hands down in the open window next to Sam. We all jumped, none of us having seen him. Andy was looking in at us all.

"Hey! You think I haven't seen you guys? Why are you following me?" Andy asked.

Sam looked calmly at Andy. "Well, we're lawyers. See a relative of yours has passed aw-"

"Tell the truth!" Andy shouted and his words seemed to echo around in my head.

"That's what..." Sam started only to be interrupted by Dean.

"We hunt demons!" Sam looked at Dean shocked, and I leaned forward nodding at Andy.

"Demons _and _Spirits! Things your worst nightmares wouldn't even touch." I chimed in, suddenly feeling the urge to spill my guts to this guy.

"Sam here, he's my brother, and this is my girl, Beth." Dean said, words just spilling out of his mouth.

"Dean, shut up!" Sam said looking at us both furiously.

"I'm trying." Dean said, looking at Sam a little panicked.

"Sam's psychic," I said, looking over at Andy. "Kind of like you. Well, not really like you, but see, he thinks you're a murderer, and he's afraid that he's going to become one himself, 'cause you're all part of something that's terrible." I couldn't stop the words running out of my mouth, no matter how hard I tried, it was like a well that had been tapped and it was all gushing out.

"I hope to hell that he's wrong about that," Dean added, smiling uncomfortably. "but I'm starting to get a little scared that he might be right." I gaped at Dean, he'd never told me that before. Sam was frowning at us both, shocked.

Andy looked stunned. "OK, you know what? Just leave me alone."

"OK," Dean and I agreed in unison, Dean cringed and grabbed his forehead, I sat back in the car, a little freaked out at everything that had just come out of our mouths.

Sam glared at us both and got out of the car, stalking Andy down the street.

I looked out the back window, we could hear the exchange through the windows.

"What are you doing? Look, I, I said leave me alone. All right? Get out of here, just start driving and never stop." Andy tried to work his mind control on Sam but it wasn't working.

"Doesn't seem to work on me, Andy," Sam said.

"What?" Andy asked, confused.

"You can make people do things, can't you? You can tell them what to think." Sam asked, walking closer.

Dean and I got out of the car and started after them, but Sam held up a hand to us, warning us to stay back.

"That...that's crazy." Andy said with a laugh.

"It all started about a year ago, didn't it? After you turned twenty two. Little stuff at first, and then you got better at controlling it." Sam was speaking quickly to the man, pensive facial expression.

Andy was freaking out, his hands to his head as he tried to process what Sam was saying.

"How do you know all this?" He asked.

"Because the same thing happened to me, Andy. My mom died in a fire, too. I have abilities too. You see, we're connected, you and me." Sam said and Andy grabbed his head.

"You know what? Just, just, just, just get out of here, all right?!" Andy said, panicked.

"Why did you tell the doctor to walk in front of a bus?" Sam asked, Andy looked shocked.

"What?!" Andy asked, mouth open.

Suddenly Sam cringed, staggering back, he kept trying to look at Andy, but he was also getting a vision. Dean and I exchanged worried glances starting to walk closer.

"Why did you kill him?" Sam asked Andy.

"I didn't!" Andy said, and then Sam gasped, grabbing at his head. I was running toward him, ignoring the obviously danger of Andy standing right there.

Dean was right beside me and he caught Sam as he collapsed from the vision. Together we lowered him to the pavement.

"Sam? What is it?" I asked, hovering over him, worried.

"Look, I didn't do anything to him," Andy said, crouching beside us.

"A woman. A woman burning alive." Sam muttered. Dean frowned.

"What else'd you get?" He asked.

Sam gasped. "A gas station, a woman is gonna kill herself."

"What does he mean, going to? What is he, what is - " Andy was wide-eyed, taking this all in.

"Shut up!" Dean ordered him, still looking at Sam.

"She gets triggered by a call on her cell." Sam said

"When?" I asked.

"I don't know," Sam muttered. Dean and I helped Sam to his feet, I was fussing over him, checking out his face, worried.

"But as long as we keep our eyes on this son of a bitch, he can't hurt her," Sam pointed out and we looked over at Andy.

"I didn't hurt anybody." Andy said to us.

"Yeah, not yet," Sam accused.

A fire engine raced past us all of a sudden, the sirens in full blare. I turned to look at it with curiosity, Dean frowned.

"Go," Sam nodded to both of us and we ran to get in the car and follow the fire engine. Andy tried to follow, but Sam was having none of that.

"No, not you. You're staying here with me." Sam said. Andy looked confused.

A few minutes later we were already at the scene, emergency vehicles everywhere. I pulled out my cell and dialled Sam.

"Hey, it's me. She's dead. Burned up, just like you said." I told Sam.

"_When?" _He asked.

"Like minutes ago, before we got here. The smell hasn't even cleared. What's up with your visions Sam? This wasn't even a head start!" I said.

"_I don't know, all right? I can't control them, I don't know what the hell is going on._" Sam said angrily.

"Listen, you were with Andy when this whole thing happened, so it can't be him, it has to be someone else doing this." I said, looking up at Dean.

"_That doesn't make any sense," _Sam said.

I laughed. "What else is new?" Dean was fidgeting and inclined his head toward the emergency workers. "Look, we're going to see what we can dig up here, we'll come get you soon."

I hung up and looked at Dean. A small moment of worry flashed in his eyes before he shut it away, trying to hide it. I sighed.

"This isn't good." I said to him and he shook his head.

"No... what the hell is Sammy mixed up in here?" He asked, I wished I had an answer for him.

* * *

Sam and Andy were where we left them, sitting on a truck talking when we got back. Dean pulled the Impala up and we both got out, walking around to the other men.

"Victim's name was Holly Becket, forty-one, single." Dean said to Sam and Andy.

"Who is she?" Sam asked Andy.

"I've never heard of her," Andy said, shaking his head.

"We called Ash on the way over here, he came up with something," I said, squinting in the sun. "Apparently Holly Becket gave birth when she was eighteen years old, back in 1983. Sam day you were born Andy," I said, looking at him.

"Andy, were you adopted?" Sam asked.

"Well, yeah." Andy said with a shrug.

"You were? And you neglected to mention that?" Dean asked.

"Never really came up. I mean, I never knew my birth parents, and like you said, my adopted mom died when I was a baby..." Andy looked between me and Dean. "Do you, do you think this Holly woman could actually be my mother?"

"I don't know." I said, shrugging. "I tried to get a copy of the birth records, but they're hard copy only, sealed in the county office."

"Well, screw that!" Andy said with a smile.

Ten minutes later we were standing in the county office storage room, Andy was talking to an elderly security guard, escorting him to the door.

"I probably shouldn't have let you kids in here," he said, worried.

"No, it'll all be fine. All right? Just go get a cup of coffee." The guard turned to leave and Andy waved his hand, continuing in a dramatic voice saying "_These aren't the 'droids you're looking for." _

Dean was grinning at him, and he looked over at me when Andy quoted one of our favourite movies. "Awesome!" He chuckled and I smiled, sifting through files.

"I got it," Sam said, holding up a file.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"Yeah. Andy it's true. Holly Becket was your birth mother." Sam said, looking at the young man.

"Huh." Andy said, looking stunned. "Does anyone have a Vicodin?"

"Dr Jennings was her doctor, too, I mean he oversaw the adoption. You have a solid connection to both of them." Sam continued, reading the paperwork.

"Yeah, but I didn't kill them," Andy insisted.

"We believe you." Dean said.

"Yeah." Sam muttered but he didn't look completely convinced.

"Then who did?" I asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"I think I got a pretty good guess." Sam said, looking up. "Holly Becket gave birth to twins."

Twenty minutes later Andy was looking shocked, sitting at the end of the table, hands on his head, staring straight ahead. Dean was pacing nearby at a printer waiting for some files to be faxed to us. He was a little worked up so I slipped over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist for a cuddle.

He didn't resist, I think we were both still reeling a little from having our heads messed with earlier. It was scary, looking back on it from the other side. I nuzzled my nose into the side of his neck and sighed contentedly.

"Mmm," Dean said, resting his chin on my head. "Think of the things I could get you to do with a skill like his," he mused, chuckling.

I smiled. "You don't need mind control to get me to do things for you Dean." I said quietly.

"True..." Dean said with a cheeky smile, "I don't know, all this _Star Wars _talk has got me thinking."

"About?" I asked.

"About you, in a Princess Leia outfit," he whispered in my ear. I chuckled.

"_A New Hope _or _Return of the Jedi _style?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, looking up at him. He smirked.

"What do you think?" He said with a smile, leaning down to kiss me. I leaned into the kiss with a soft moan.

After a few moments I pulled back. "Well, Halloween is only a few months away..." I said suggestively, "All kinds of costumes around then." He shook his head and kissed me again.

"I have...an evil... twin." Andy said suddenly, shocking us back into the present. Dean cleared his throat and pulled away from me regretfully.

"Holly put you and your brother up for adoption." Sam said, reading from the file he carried. "And you went to the Gallagher family, obviously, and your brother went to the Weems family from upstate."

"Andy, how you doing?" Dean asked, walking over to the guy. "Still with us?"

Andy looked stunned. "Um. What was my brother's name?"

"Here. Um, Ansen Weems. He's got a local address." Sam said.

"He lives here?" Andy asked, surprised.

The printer next to me started to whirr and spit out some pages. "Well, let's get a look at him. Got his picture coming from the DMV right now." I said.

Dean crossed to me, pulling out the papers and looking at them, his face turned to a look of surprise.

"Well, I hate to kick you while you're freaked," Dean said, looking at Andy. "But take a look at that." Dean handed the print out to Andy who looked shocked, almost like he was going to pass out.

I walked over to take a look, and I was staring at Webber, the bus boy from the coffee shop.

* * *

**Impala**

Dean was driving us through town, Andy was sitting in the back with me.

"All right, Andy. Tell us everything you know about this guy." Sam said, turning to look at us.

"Well, I mean, not much. I … Webber shows up one day, eight months ago? Acting like he's my best friend in the world. Kinda weird, like, trying to hard, you know?" Andy said, and we all nodded. Sam winced, rubbing his eyes.

"He must have known you were twins. But why did he change his name? Why not just tell you the truth?" I asked, it made no sense.

"No idea," Andy said, shrugging.

"Aah!" Sam gasped.

"Sam?" Dean asked, looking at his brother worried.

Sam grabbed his head, groaning. Another vision, he started thrashing around.

"Sam?" I said reaching for him. "Dean pull over... Sam?!" Dean pulled the car to the side of the road and Sam clutched at the handle of his door, shoving it open. I jumped out and ran around to him, grabbing at his shoulders. "Sam!"

"The dam!" Sam muttered to me, and I looked at Dean. "It's Webber, he's got Tracy! He's going to make her jump." Dean helped me pull Sam back into the front seat and I returned to the back. Within minutes we were on our way to the latest vision's location.

* * *

**Guthrie City Lake Dam**

Dean pulled the Impala to a stop and we all circled around to the trunk, opening it to get weapons. I selected a long distance rifle and tested the sight on it.

"We should stay back," I said to Dean who was nodding.

"No argument here. Had my head screwed with enough for one day," He said grabbing the ammo, another rifle, and two handguns. He handed the handguns to Sam who nodded and walked around the side of the car, he was solemn and on a mission.

"I'm coming with you," Andy said, stepping in front of Sam.

"Andy, no." Sam said, shaking his head.

"Sam, that's Tracy out there, and I'm coming," Andy said resolutely.

I exchanged a worried look with Dean as we watched Sam and Andy head further along the road. We could see Webber's vehicle parked near the end where there was a spillway. The other side was a long drop into the dam.

"Be careful, don't get too close," Dean said to me, looking as I loaded the rifle in my hands.

"Yeah, you too," I smiled. We separated and headed into the woods that would lead us up along the ridge on the other side of Webber's car.

I reached the location we'd agreed on, and got myself comfortable among the bushes, using the gun to sight Sam and Andy as they approached the car at the end.

Dean was ahead of me, circling around to come from the other direction so we could cover both sides of the car, I could just make out his shadow as he moved through the trees, gaining ground quickly.

There was the sounds of a window shattering and I swung the gun around to sight Sam standing at the car, gun out, shouting at Webber. The sounds of their voices echoed up to me and I realised belatedly that Dean and I were not far enough away. I sighted him through the rifle, he was already in place. All we could hope for was to stay hidden and Webber not realise we were here.

"Get out of the car, now!" Sam yelled.

"You really don't want to do this." Webber tried to use his power on Sam, it had no effect and Sam backhanded him hard. Andy was at the other side of the car, opening the door and pulling Tracy out.

Sam opened Webber's door and pulled him out of the car, pinning him face down to the ground, the gun aimed at his head.

"Don't move. Don't move!" Sam said. Andy ran up with the duct tape we'd brought and stuck it over Webber's mouth. He reared back and then kicked his brother twice in the stomach. Sam struggled to stop Andy from his angry attack.

"No! No, Andy, let me handle this, all right?" Sam said.

"I'm gonna kill you!" Andy yelled at Webber.

Andy and Sam wrestled as the latter tried to calm Andy down. I gasped as suddenly Tracy picked up a piece of wood next to her and smashed it on Sam's head, dropping him to the ground.

I restrained myself, watching, waiting. Trying not to go off half-cocked and start shooting everyone down there other than Sam. Sam would be fine. Besides, Dean hadn't shot anyone yet, that was a pretty good indicator that I should wait.

Andy swung around, arm out to Tracy, talking to her, ordering her to stop. The girl backed away looking completely terrified of everyone around her.

Webber pulled the duct tape away and spat some blood out of his mouth.

"Practice, bro. If you'd just practice you would know. Sometimes you don't need to use your words. If you have to... all you need is this." Webber made the motion of tapping his head. "Sometimes the headache is worth it." I swallowed, apparently it didn't matter if we were within earshot or not, the situation had just gotten ten times worse.

Andy grabbed Webber in anger. "You're a twisted son of a bitch!"

"Back off, Andy. Or Tracy's gonna do a little flying." Webber threatened, and I looked up to see Tracy standing on the ledge overlooking the spillway.

"Aren't you Trace?" Webber asked, then looking at Andy. "I'm stronger than you. I can do it."

Andy relented. "Okay, okay. Okay. All right, just... just please don't hurt her."

"Don't be mad at me, okay? I know, it's, it's all wrong. I didn't mean for this to happen, it's just... Tracy? She's trying to come between us." Webber said.

"You're insane," Andy said, shaking his head.

"She's garbage! Man, they all are! We can, we can push them, we can make them do whatever we want!" Webber said.

"Are you really... are you really this stupid?" Andy asked, silencing Webber mid-tirade. "I mean, you, you learn you've got a twin... you call him up, you go out for a drink, you don't start killing people!"

I could see Sam starting to move and I breathed easier, finger still on the trigger.

"I've wanted to tell you for so long, bro. But he didn't let me. He said I had to wait until the time was..." Webber was talking.

"Who?" Andy asked.

"The man with the yellow eyes." Webber answered, I gasped and I thought for a moment that he was looking up at me.

"What are you talking about?" Andy asked, drawing Webber's attention.

"He came to me. In my dream. He said I was special. He told me he's got big plans for me. Wait 'till you see what's in store, Andy, for both of us! See, he's the one who told me I had a brother. A twin." Webber explained.

"Why did you kill our mother? And why Dr. Jennings?" Andy asked.

"Because they split us up! They ruined our lives, Andy! We could have been together this whole time. Instead of alone. I couldn't, I couldn't let them do that, I couldn't let them get away with that. No." Webber said madly.

Webber suddenly turned, as if he sensed something. I looked up, curious, and saw him turn to look directly at Dean.

"I see you!" Webber yelled out and then there was a pause. Suddenly a searing pain hit my left shoulder, and I was thrown back against a tree. I had a moment to think I'd been shot when I realised what had happened. Webber had just had Dean shoot me! We were all in incredible danger! The game had just changed.

I groaned against the pain, telling myself _it's just a flesh wound_, pulling a cloth out of my jacket and using it to staunch the blood flow. I grabbed my rifle one-handed off the ground and tried to aim it, I couldn't do it, my left arm was limp at my side.

Suddenly there was the sound of a gun shot firing and I looked down on the scene below. Andy had just shot Webber in the back, he convulsed and fell to the ground. Within a minute my phone was ringing and I fell back against the tree in relief, I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it without even looking at who the caller was.

"I'm ok Dean." I said into the phone.

There was a string of curses in my ear as I groaned from the pain of my shoulder, then the sound of him crashing through the undergrowth of the woods to get to me.

"Jesus Christ!" He muttered when he reached me. I was leaning against the tree, feeling a little light headed. When he saw the bloody mess of my shoulder he grimaced, taking over and pressing another cloth against the one already there. I groaned with the pressure he put on it.

"Sorry..." he said, turning worried eyes to me.

"I can't believe you shot me." I said, feeling a little dizzy. Dean looked pained and tore a couple of strips off the bottom of his t-shirt to tie the make-shift bandage on my shoulder.

"I'm never gonna live this one down..." he muttered with a little smile.

"No way Jose..." I said, slurring my words a little. "That's going to leave a scar … it'll totally ruin my Leia costume!"

Dean rolled his eyes and kissed me. "Could've been your heart, that's where he wanted me to shoot you." My eyes widened and I thought about the amount of willpower it must have taken to just change his aim even that little bit.

"The Force is strong... with.. you." I muttered and then I felt that familiar black nothingness come over me as I passed out from the pain.

* * *

**Hospital**

I woke up in a hospital bed, Dean asleep in the chair next to me, one hand reaching out to the bed and resting on my arm. Sam and Andy were out in the hallway talking to the police.

When they saw me awake one of the police officers came in and looked at me.

"Hi, I'd like to ask you a few questions," she said, and I nodded.

"She already gave you her statement officer. Ansen Weems shot Beth, and then he shot himself. You all saw it happen." Andy said to her and I marvelled at how confident he sounded.

"Yeah, we did," the officer said, nodding, as if she'd just remembered the last few hours. She excused herself and left the room.

"You're getting better at that," I smiled and he looked proud.

Tracy walked past the window, looking in at us all, she turned to avoid us, the nurse showing her to another room.

"She won't even look at me," Andy said with a sigh.

"Yeah, she's pretty shaken up," Sam said.

Dean jerked awake at the voices all of a sudden, looking around to get his bearings. When he saw me awake he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't scare me like that," he said frowning, and my mind went to the last time we'd been in the hospital, this was getting to be a bad habit.

"Sorry." I said with a sympathetic look.

I looked back at Andy. "I'm sorry about Tracy," I said.

"I never used my mind thing on her before," Andy said sadly. "Before last night. She's scared of me now."

Sam patted him on the back, there were no words to comfort him.

"Here Andy, I wrote down my cell. You don't have to be alone in this, all right? If anything comes up, just call." Sam said, handing Andy a piece of paper with his number.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Andy asked, wide-eyed.

"You be good, Andy." Dean said sternly, sitting on the side of the bed with me. "Or we'll be back."

I frowned at Dean, thinking it was a little over the top. Andy gulped and said his good byes, leaving the three of us alone.

"Looks like I was right," Sam said as he watched Andy walk away.

"About what?" I asked.

"Andy. He's a killer after all." Sam said with a sigh.

"No, he's a hero. He saved his girlfriend's life, he saved my life." I looked up at Dean, wide-eyed.

Dean turned to me with a shrug. "Webber had me point the gun at myself after I shot you," he explained, I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to think about it.

"Bottom line, last night, he wasted somebody." Sam said.

"Yeah, but he's not a foaming-at-the-mouth psycho. He was just, he was pushed into that." Dean said.

"Webber was pushed too, in his own way. Max Miller was pushed. Hell, I was pushed by Jessica's death." Sam pointed out, not letting up.

"What's your point Sam?" Dean asked.

"Right circumstances, everyone's capable of murder. Everyone. You know, maybe that's what the demon's doing. Pushing us. Finding ways to break us." Sam said, worried.

"Sam, we don't know what the demon wants, okay? Quit worrying about it." Dean said dismissively. I frowned, thinking that there was definitely something more here than what we knew. Sam thought so too, and he turned concerned eyes to Dean.

"You know, I heard you before, Dean, when Andy made you tell the truth. You're just as scared of this as I am." Sam said.

"That was mind control! I mean, it's like, that's like being roofied, man, that doesn't count." Dean claimed, shaking his head.

"What?" Sam asked, dubious.

"No, I'm, I'm calling do-over." Dean said with a nod and I chuckled. We hadn't done do-overs for years.

"What are you, seven?" Sam smirked.

"Doesn't matter. Look, we've just gotta keep doing what we're doing, find that evil son of a bitch and kill it." Dean insisted.

"Yeah, I guess." Sam said.

Dean's phone started ringing and he answered it.

"Hello?" He said. "Ellen. What's going on?" A pause and then he looked over at us. "Yeah, we'll be right there." He hung up, looking at me.

"Are you going to be ok to travel?" I nodded, no way was I staying here.

* * *

**Harvelle's Roadhouse  
**_**Nebraska**_**  
**

We were sitting at the bar, Dean fussing over me because of the shoulder. I lapped it up while I had it, wasn't often I got this kind of treatment. I think it was just worse because he'd been the one to shoot me.

"Jo?" Ellen said, looking at her daughter who was hovering behind the bar.

"Hmm?" Jo asked.

"Go pull up another case of beer." Ellen said.

"Mom..." Jo protested with a sigh.

"Now. Please." Ellen wasn't taking no for an answer. Jo pouted and walked off.

Once she was gone, Ellen leaned on the bar in front of Sam and Dean.

"So. You uh, you want to tell me about this last hunt of yours?" She asked.

Dean and Sam exchanged a look. "Nope. Not really." Dean said bringing his beer up to his mouth, Ellen gave him a stern look.

"No offense, it's just kind of a family thing." Dean added.

"Not anymore." Ellen said, dropping a stack of papers in front of him on the bar.

"I got this stuff from Ash. Andrew Gallagher's house burnt down on his six month birthday, just like your house. You think it was the demon both times, don't you? You think it went after Gallagher's family?" The boys looked at each other then over at me. I shrugged, I didn't know what to say.

"Yeah, we think so." Sam said finally.

"Sam..." Dean warned.

"Why?" Ellen asked.

"None of your business." Dean said stonily.

"You mind your tongue with me, boy. This isn't just your war, this is war. Now, something big and bad's coming and it's coming fast, and their side holds all the cards. Now, at best all we got is us. Together. No secrets or half-truths here." Ellen said.

Dean shared a furious glance with me, his back stiffening. I laid a hand on his shoulder and shook my head.

"There are people out there, like Andy Gallagher, like me. And um, we all have some kind of ability." Sam said.

"Ability?" Ellen questioned. Dean shook his head, uncomfortable with the questioning.

"Yeah. Psychic ability. Me, I have, um, I have visions. Premonitions. I don't know, it's different for everybody. The demon said he had plans for people like us."

Ellen shared a look with Dean. "What kind of plans?" She asked.

"We don't really know for sure," Sam said.

"These people out there, these psychics. Are they dangerous?" Ellen asked.

"No. Not all of them." I answered, grimacing at my shoulder just the same.

"But some are. Some are very dangerous." Sam said.

"Okay, how many of them are we looking at?" Ellen asked.

"We've been able to track a clear pattern so far. They've all had house fires on the night of the kid's six month birthday." Dean said.

"That's not true." I said quietly.

"What?!" Dean asked, looking at me.

"Weber? Or Ansen Weems, or whatever his name is, I looked at his files, and there was no house fire. Nothing out of the ordinary." I said, worried. Jo had returned and was standing in the back behind her mother, arms crossed.

"Which breaks pattern. So if there's any others like him, there'd be nothing in the system. No way to track 'em all down." Ellen said.

"And so who knows how many of 'em are really out there?" Dean said quietly.

Ellen turned to look behind her. "Jo, honey?"

"Yeah?" Jo asked.

"You'd better break out the whiskey instead."

I didn't know whether to be happy Ellen was involved or not. Nothing good had seemed to come of people getting involved with us so far – I thought about Pastor Jim and Caleb who had died just because they had been friends. But we needed the help, that much I could see. Maybe it wouldn't seem so hard with a few friends to lighten the load.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

I don't know about anyone else, but I kind of find it hilarious picturing Sam's face as he sees the Impala go driving by with Andy in it, Beth hanging out the window waving at him. It's had me chuckling away all day. :D

* * *

The song for this chapter is: _My Own Worst Enemy _by Lit.

I think it's just the funniest little song, it's not totally fitting for the chapter in that it's about being so drunk and doing/saying shit you shouldn't – but been that Dean likens mind control to being roofied, I think it's a likely song for how you'd feel if you woke up from a mind control stint. Plus, I just loved the line "_Please tell me why my car is in the front yard_", kind of like why is the Impala over there? ;)

* * *

I love the Star Wars series :D So all those references throughout the episode were just laugh out loud d^.^b If you're an Obi-wan romance fan, go check out Sweet Christabel's fic called _Fair Maiden, Shining Knight. _It's one of my favourite fanfics!

* * *

Favourite line from this: "Sam you look like you're sucking on a lemon." And he did! That was a great analogy. What was your favourite?

* * *

Next up: A flashback to Dean & Beth ages 21 & 18, pre-relationship. I'm hoping to get it out before I'm away for a good 4 days starting Friday (Australia time), but tomorrow will be packing and job orientation, so we'll see how much time I actually get. I've still got a good few hours left before I crash tonight :D I'll be editing/proofreading _Highway To Hell _while I'm away to get it all up to scratch (hopefully - it's slow going on a tablet), then back into it when I am home from holidays :D

* * *

Last but not least, HELLO to all my new readers :D Please leave me a review/PM and tell me what you think of the story and what you're enjoying most :D


	7. No Exit (Flashback)

_High dive into frozen waves where the past comes back to life  
Fight fear for the selfish pain, it was worth it every time  
Hold still right before we crash 'cause we both know how this ends_  
_A clock ticks 'til it breaks your glass and I drown in you again_

_'Cause you are the piece of me I wish I didn't need_  
_Chasing relentlessly, still fight and I don't know why_

_If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?_  
_If our love's insanity, why are you my clarity?_

* * *

**NO EXIT  
****(7 years ago)**

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Motel Room  
**_**Cicero, Indiana**_**  
**

We'd been in Cicero for a week, and I was starting to climb the walls. Sammy was safely enrolled in school, but I'd finished up in the Spring so now it was just Dean and I to kill the long days with nothing to do.

John had broken his ankle about ten days ago on a job, and was currently laid up in bed. He was a sour old grump at the moment, so I'd ducked out to find all his favourite foods, some magazines and other things that might keep him entertained while he was in his rest bed.

When I got back to the motel, I could hear voices coming from the motel room.

"I don't know Dad, I'd feel a whole lot better if it were just me," Dean was saying to John.

"Well, I'm not real happy about it myself, I'd feel better if I were going on this job with you as was originally planned. But I promised Jefferson, and we kind of need Beth for this one." John was saying. I frowned, what were they talking about?

I opened the door and let myself into the room. Dean was pacing and John was laid up on the bed still

"What's going on?" I asked, looking at them both.

Dean turned to give me an appraising look and sighed. "We're going on a hunt," he said.

"Why are you so upset about that? You should be thrilled to get out of here." I asked, putting the bag of junk food I'd just bought on the table.

"Well I would be, except, you're coming with me." Dean said with a smirk.

"Gee thanks Dean, glad to see I'm such a wanted person." I frowned and he threw me a smile.

"Suck it up cherry-pie, you know I don't mean it like that. It's just, Dad's sending us on our own." Dean said, a look of concern crossing his face.

"Oh, really?" I asked, looking at John. John didn't look overly pleased about it either and waved me over to the side of the bed. I joined him, sitting next to him.

"OK. Here's the job. Jefferson is in Philadelphia. He needs back-up on this case. Three weeks ago a young girl disappeared from an apartment building." John said, passing me a file.

"This girl wasn't the first. Over the past eighty years six women have vanished. All from the same building, all young blondes." John said, looking at us both. "Only happens every decade or two so cops never eyeball the pattern."

I nodded, curious. Dean was pacing again.

"I don't like it Dad," Dean said to John and the older man sighed.

"You think I do Dean? But I've trained you well, and I think you are big enough to take care of your sister." John said. "Jefferson needs the help, and I owe him big time. Do I have to make this an order?"

Dean sighed, crossing his arms and looking at John. "No, sir."

"That's better. Now go get your brother from school, I want to talk to Beth." Dean nodded and left, taking the car keys with him.

I looked over at John, wondering what was on his mind. He sighed at me, and a worried expression crossed his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

"Your brother's right. I shouldn't be sending you, I know this. Makes me sick to think about it because I'm not gonna be there to back you guys up." John said, frowning. "But if the pattern fits there's still two or three girls that will go missing in the next few weeks, and we need to flesh out this creature, or whatever it is."

I nodded. "OK."

"So I'm relying on Dean to keep you safe, and you to keep him out of trouble. You're well trained now, and very capable Beth, I have no doubts in your ability to do this job. You or Dean." John took a deep breath. "But I want you to be careful, don't take any unnecessary risks, and if it gets hairy, you get out of there, you hear me?"

I nodded again, eyes wide.

"Most of all, you listen to Jefferson. He's good at his job, and you get Dean to toe the line with him, none of this macho nonsense. Jefferson is running this job, understood?"

"Yes, sir." I said.

"Now, how do you feel about blondes?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Blondes?" I asked, confused. John handed me a card with a time and date written on it, it was for in an hour. I frowned and turned it over. _Battle Creek Hair Salon _it read on the other side. I looked up at him, curious. "Oh, no, you can't be serious."

* * *

**Apartment Building  
**_**Philadelphia**_**  
**

Dean was staring at me, and it was starting to make me feel a little uncomfortable. I glanced over at him again and he averted his eyes, we'd been doing this dance for the whole trip to Pennsylvania. Now we were parked, sitting in the Impala, looking up at the apartment building we were about to investigate.

He glanced over at me again and I turned to stare. "You want to touch it?" I asked, raising my eyebrow and leaning forward a little.

"What?" He asked, frowning.

"The hair Dean. You've been staring at it for the last 10 hours we've been on the road." I pointed out and he chuckled.

"Well it's just... so... blonde." He said, and he did reach out to slide a few fingers through my hair.

"Yeah I know," I grumped. "I hate it."

He smiled at me and nodded. "Yeah it's not really you, but it doesn't look that bad. I can't believe Dad made you a salon appointment, that is hilarious."

"I guess he wanted it to look real." I mused, looking in the mirror at myself, flipping a few tendrils back which he'd accidentally brushed into my eyes.

Dean paused, looking at me again, his face unreadable. "Well it does. Maybe a little too real, I don't like it."

I sighed. "Dean..." I said warningly. I really didn't want him to do the whole over-protective big brother thing on me.

"I know, I know, I'll stop it." He stared at me again. "OK, come on. Let's go. This'll be fun, you, me, no Dad or Sammy – maybe we can actually have a little down time. I think I saw a bar down the street, we can get in some pool once the job is done."

I smiled at him, now that was the Dean I loved being around, happy, carefree, and fun. "Sounds like a plan." I said, nodding.

"Jefferson is already inside checking out the apartment according to his text," Dean said, looking up. "I'm gonna meet him, how about you go check out the landlord, see if we can't rent the place?"

"Sure, I can do that." I smiled, grabbing my bag. Then we were all business, leaving the Impala and heading indoors.

The landlord, Ed, was middle-aged with a receding hairline, three-day growth on his chin, and carrying a few extra pounds around the middle, but he was friendly and keen to get a new tenant in the building.

He walked me up to the apartment and I kept my eyes peeled for Dean, who was up here somewhere with Jefferson, and totally not expecting company.

"It's just so convenient," I said to Ed and he nodded

"Yeah, it's a great building, fixed it up real nice. All the apartments come furnished, too." He said.

"It's so spacious. You know, my friend told me that I absolutely had to come check it out and I have to admit, she was right. You did a really good job with this place."

Dean rounded the corner, lost in his thoughts for a moment with another man I didn't recognise. "What are you doing here?" He asked, when he saw me.

"Oh, there you are honey," I said with a smile, slipping my arm around Dean's waist. He looked at me a little surprised. "This is my boyfriend Dean, and his buddy Jeff." I said.

"Good to meetcha. Quite a gal you've got here." Ed said to Dean, shaking his hand. Dean turned to look at me.

"Oh yeah, she's a pistol," he said with a grin, smacking me on my ass. I raised my eyebrow at him.

Jefferson, as it turned out was a tall and pale guy around his mid-thirties, he had a quirky smile, short blonde hair and eyes the colour of blueberries. He took the whole thing in his stride, smiling at the landlord.

"Great building you have here," He said with a British accent to Ed.

"Thanks man, I do my best to keep it looking nice." Ed replied.

"Well it shows." Jefferson said, nodding.

"So, did you already check out that apartment? The one for rent?" I asked the men.

"Yeah. Yes. Loved it. Heh. Great... flow." Dean said, his hand still around my waist. It felt warm and soft, and it was a little distracting.

"How'd you get in?" Ed asked, suspicious.

"It was open." Dean replied, Ed looked confused but didn't argue.

"Now, Ed, um, when did the last tenant move out?" I asked the landlord.

"Oh, about a month ago. Cut and run, too. Stiffed me for the rent." Ed replied.

"Well. Her loss, our gain! Because if Dean loves it, it's good enough for me." I said with a smile.

"Oh sweetie," Dean said with a faux loving stare, smacking my ass.

"We'll take it." I said with a smile to Ed.

* * *

**Apartment**

"Boyfriend?" Dean asked, looking at me with an amused expression.

"I panicked, ok! I wasn't expecting him to bring me upstairs. I just thought I could question him while you both were checking out the room. I saw you both standing there when we came up and forgot the cover story, except that now I remember _there was no cover story!" _I paused, looking at Dean. "You know adlibbing isn't my strong suit."

"Yeah... yeah we're gonna have to work on that I think." Dean said with frown.

"She did fine Dean, give her a break." Jefferson said, coming into the room with a bag and dumping it on the kitchen table. "Hi Beth, I'm Jefferson, glad to have you with us."

"Hi there, glad to be here. What have you guys found out about the apartment so far?" I asked

"Well, there's considerable activity around this light switch over here," Jefferson said, waving me over to an exposed circuit in the wall. "Do you know what that is?" He pointed to a thick black goo that was oozing out of the plate. I shook my head, reaching forward to touch it.

"It's ectoplasm." Dean said, walking over.

"Yes, and it's very rare, I've only seen this stuff, like, twice. To make this stuff you have to be one majorly pissed off spirit." Jefferson said with a nod.

"Right..." I said, thinking. "Well then we better find this thing before it grabs any more girls then."

Dean's phone rang and he answered, walking into the living room.

"Hey Dad," Dean said, and I followed him, listening in.

"Yeah, yeah we're here... yes we're with Jefferson...yes she's here, where else would she be?..." Dean rolled his eyes at me and I chuckled, John was going to be a major pain in his ass this whole job, I could tell. "Yes sir. No Dad I won't... all right all right I won't let her out of my sight. Got it!" He hung up and turned to me.

"Dad?" I said with a smirk, leaning in the archway separating the living room from the kitchen and dining.

"Ya think?" He muttered, shaking his head. "The man's more paranoid than I am!"

I laughed and picked up my bag from where I'd dumped it. I carried it over to the couch and sat down, rifling through my things looking for my journal. Pulling it out I sat with my knees up on the couch, opening it up and starting a new entry. _Ectoplasm: the black gooey residue left from the presence of an extremely pissed off spirit. Seen for the first time today in apartment building at Philadelphia. _

My mind wandered as Dean stalked around the room, laying out blueprints on the table, and talking to Jefferson. He glanced over at me now and again, I pretended not to notice, but the memory of his arm around my waist, lingered... I found myself thinking about it way more than I should have been.

I shook my head to clear it and got up to join Jefferson and Dean at the table, time to work, not think about things that I had no right to even be thinking about.

"This place was built in 1924." Jefferson was explaining to me, showing me the blueprints. "It was originally a warehouse, converted into apartments a few months ago."

"Yeah? What was here before 1924?" Dean asked, pacing down one side of the table.

"Nothing. An empty field." Jefferson said, walking over to sit down next to some more paperwork.

"So, most likely scenario, someone died bloody in the building and now he's back and raising hell?" I asked, looking from Dean to Jefferson.

"I already checked." Jefferson replied, "In the past eighty-two years, zero violent deaths. Unless you count a janitor who slipped on a wet floor." He made a slippery "woooo" sound and then a crash and burn noise as he demonstrated with his hand a janitor falling.

I laughed, at least he was a bit of comedic relief after John's seriousness all the time. I wondered just how his friendly persona came off around John. Maybe there was a reason we hadn't met this guy until now. Dean was still pacing and it was starting to drive me crazy.

"Dean, would you please sit down?" I said, flashing him a crazed look. He stopped and then contritely sat at the table, I flashed him a smile as thanks.

"So, have you checked police reports, county death records..." Dean said, looking at Jefferson.

"Obituaries, mortuary reports and seven other sources, thank you Dean, yes." Jefferson said with a smile.

"OK. So it's something else then. Maybe some kind of cursed object that brought a spirit with it." Dean said and Jefferson nodded.

"We'll have to scan the whole building." I said, and Jefferson nodded.

"Right." Dean said, taking Jefferson's lead. "You and me, we'll take the top two floors, Jefferson can take the bottom."

"We'd move faster if we split up," I said to Dean, frowning.

"Oh, this isn't negotiable cherry-pie." Dean said with his usual pie-inspired nickname for me. I sighed. He literally wasn't going to let me out of his sight.

* * *

An hour later we were walking side-by-side down the dimly lit hallway with EMF readers in hand. Dean hadn't been like this in a long time, but then, usually we had John with us on the hunt too.

I glanced over at him, he had frown on his face.

"Yo, you going to let up on me a little Dean?" I asked.

"Huh?" He asked, looking at me confused.

"The last time you rode me this close I was sixteen, going to Spring Dance with the QB1 and you were all worried for my chastity." I grinned, raising my eyebrow at him.

Dean cleared his throat and looked at me. "Yeah, well, that's what brothers are for. Besides, that guy was bad news."

"Dean you broke his nose!" I said, shaking my head.

"Well... he shouldn't have had you in such a compromising position." Dean said looking away and waving the EMF above our heads along the skirting boards.

"He was giving me a simple kiss good night!" I said, rolling my eyes.

Dean grabbed me suddenly, pushing me against the wall and leaning close, his body pressed along the length of me, lips hovering over mine. I stared up into his hazel eyes, suddenly lost for words.

"This... is not the position of a simple...kiss...good night." He said softly, looking into my eyes. I swallowed, my hand dropping a little to my side as I looked back at him.

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, I'm not sixteen any more... I think I can take care of myself." I said, a little breathless. A mix of emotions flicked through Dean's eyes as he remained in place.

"I noticed." He said quietly, and then he swallowed and stepped back, cocking his head to the side. "But you're still my little sister, always will be sugar-pie, so get used to it! If you think I'm letting you out of my sight..." He paused, looking at me conflicted.

I frowned. "What is it?" I asked at his expression.

"I don't exactly agree with this plan of Dad and Jefferson's, to use you as bait." He said with a frown.

"It's the quickest way to draw it out and you know it." I said, running my hand through my newly dyed blonde hair. Dean scoffed, and started to walk down the hallway again, turning a corner.

"If it were you as bait you wouldn't even hesitate Dean, so stick your chauvinistic attitude aside and let's get on with the job." I said angrily, chasing after him.

"Beth, this ain't about gender studies. You can do the job fine, women can do the job fine. But you've had no experience around a spirit this strong." Dean said, still walking.

I followed him, not really shocked at him, but disappointed in his attitude. "Well, how am I supposed to get experience if you and Dad won't let me do these cases? Why do you think Dad sent me here?"

"He sent you here because he's not above putting your safety behind the needs of the job, and it's dangerous, and I don't agree with him because at the end of the day it falls to me to protect you, _that's my job_, and I can't protect you if you do something stupid, ok?" Dean stopped to face me, he was breathing heavier and obviously struggling with the whole idea.

I looked at him with all the love and affection I felt for my big brother. "Dean, I trust you, you've never let me down. You won't now."

"Why would you choose this life Beth?" Dean asked with a frown.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Beth you have options. You were fifteen and not given the options. No one in their right mind chooses this life. Dad started me in this so young I can't even remember another life. _I wish _I could do something else." Dean was staring at me, worried.

"You love the job." I said to him.

"Yeah, but I'm a little twisted," he said with a smirk.

"You don't think I'm a little twisted? I put up with the three of you guys every day! You all drive me nuts! I had _a demon _inside of me Dean! I can't go back to every day after something like that." I argued with him.

"Your Dad wanted something more for you Beth. That's a good thing. You keep along this path, you might not be able to find it later." Dean said with a sadness in his eyes.

"My father is dead Dean, it's only me now. You, Sammy... Dad... you're all that I have. This life is all I have Dean. So please just stop giving me a hard time and support me in this." I said looking up at him. He stared back at me before his eyes softened and I knew he'd given in. He reached forward and ran a hand along my hair with a half-smile.

"I really do prefer it brown," he said with a smile, pulling me forward to give me a brotherly kiss on the forehead. "OK." He whispered in answer to what I'd just said, and I leaned against him for a moment before wrapping my arms around him for a hug which he returned.

"Thank you," I whispered back, still holding on.

I sniffed and frowned. "Gee, you need a shower Dean." I said, pulling back.

"Huh?" He asked, frowning and sniffing under his arm. "No I don't!"

I spun around, looking at the wall behind us. "Well something smells." I said, holding the EMF reader out in front of me. "Is that a gas leak?"

"No. Something else." Dean said, looking around and sniffing the air. "I know it. I just can't put my finger on it."

I crouched down by a grate in the wall, the EMF reader spiked with static going off the charts.

"Mazel Tov. You just found your first spirit without Dad." Dean said with a grin, crouching down beside me.

"It's inside the vent." I said.

Dean handed me his flash-light before pulling out a screwdriver, undoing the screws in the grate and pulling it off the wall. He took the flash-light back and shone it into the vent while he looked.

"There's something in there. Here." He muttered, handing me back the light before reached his arm inside, feeling around. He grimaced and pulled back, clutching a clump of bloody blonde hair in his hand.

"Eewww." I said, screwing up my nose.

"Somebody's keeping souvenirs." Dean said, looking at me with serious eyes.

"We better show Jefferson." I said, and he nodded, standing up and pulling me to my feet. I glanced at the hair again with a shudder.

"Yeah... now you know why I'm not so happy about the whole bait thing..." Dean muttered, screwing the grate back on before taking my arm and escorting me back to the apartment.

* * *

A few hours later and we'd decided to wait until morning to continue the search. Jefferson had decided we should relax a little with a few rounds of poker, and we'd happily agreed. I was still a little creeped out over the whole hair thing, but I didn't want to show it.

Come eleven o'clock Jefferson started to make his bed on the couch.

"You guys are right to share the bedroom, yes?" Jefferson asked, glancing over at us. "I mean, I know it's not exactly ideal..."

"No, no that's ok." I said, looking over at Dean who was suddenly looking a little stressed. "I mean, I pretty much always share with Sammy anyway. Not a lot of room for four of us in those motel rooms." I said to Jefferson and he nodded.

"That's what I figured." He said, and he pulled his top off over his head to reveal a well toned torso. I swallowed, the man was pretty decent looking for someone over a decade older than me.

Dean cleared his throat and grabbed his bag, heading for the bedroom. I did the same, glancing back at Jefferson who was now in sweatpants and nothing else, getting under the covers and bedding down for the night.

I changed into my tank top and shorts which I usually wore for sleeping and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth. When I got back Dean was already in the double bed, facing out, his back to my side of the bed. He was in shorts and a t-shirt, and apparently already asleep.

I took out my candle, the one thing I did every night, and put it by the bed. Usually I would go outside so as not to bother anyone, but this was Philadelphia and outside was the middle of the road, and I didn't want to walk to a park, or go looking for a church this late. I hesitated, looking at Dean's back.

"Dean?" I whispered, he rolled on to his back to look at me, his eyes asking if I was ok. "Do you mind?" I asked, indicating the candle.

"No." He said quietly. "Do you want me to leave?" I shook my head no and his mouth melted into a half-smile.

He turned back onto his side and I watched him for a few moments, before getting my rosary out and lighting the candle. I usually took time to meditate and clear my head of the day's events when I took my prayer time, but not tonight. I didn't want to keep Dean awake any longer than necessary, just the same I said the prayers quietly, almost silently, just a mere whisper on my lips.

Ten minutes later I had prayed the rosary, and finished my daily prayer to my guardian angel. I blew out the candle and the room fell dark aside from the street light streaming in through the window. I crawled into bed and lay on my back, my arm pressed against Dean's back. He turned to face me, eyes seeking mine in the dark.

"Did you have fun today?" He asked quietly, and I smiled and nodded. He grinned. "You're terrible, what am I gonna do with you?"

"Just watch out for me, like a good big brother does, and keep me safe." I said with a smile.

"Hmmm..." He said thoughtfully, watching me in the dark, his face was in shadow so I couldn't see what he was thinking. "Get some sleep." He ordered me, rolling over again. I rolled on to my side after a few minutes, putting my back to him, only to find that I was sliding toward the middle of the bed. It was an older mattress, and naturally sagged in the middle creating a bit of a quick sand effect.

I found myself pushed right up against Dean and I freaked a little. I moved away, pulling myself closer to the edge of the bed. "Sorry." I muttered. He looked over his shoulder at me but didn't say anything.

I tried to get comfortable, but it wasn't easy with the black hole of Calcutta sucking me into the middle of the bed. If it was Sam I wouldn't worry and I'd just cuddle up and go to sleep, but this was Dean, and although we'd shared beds from time to time, I didn't have the same comfortable familiarity like I did with Sam. There was a tension with us which was always overshadowed by John's mandate that there be absolutely no hanky-panky between any of us.

I slipped to the middle of the bed again and sighed in frustration, flipping on to my stomach and putting my arms under the pillow. But I wasn't comfortable. I was a side-sleeper and just couldn't see myself getting any sleep if I was going to be clinging to the edge of the bed all night.

Dean sighed at my movements. "Would you stop tossing and turning?" He asked. I rolled on to my back, which only slid me down against him again.

"I can't sleep on my stomach Dean, this damn mattress!" I said, sighing.

Dean sighed and then the mattress shifted as he moved again. I tensed when his arm slipped around my waist. The bed naturally sank in the middle, and he rolled me on to my side, pulling us both into a warm, comfortable cocoon. He nestled into me, his warm body pressed up along mine. I held my breath. I was pretty sure my heart had just stopped beating.

"For god's sake get some sleep Beth," he said, pulling back just slightly so he wasn't breathing in my ear. The rest of him was pressed snugly against me, his arm wrapped loosely around my waist, hand brushing against my stomach. I moaned internally and tried to relax. After a while he fell asleep, his breathing settling into a relaxed and comfortable rhythm, only then could I fully relax, and allowed myself to enjoy the closeness, the feel of him against me, and I drifted off to a nice, warm, fuzzy sleep.

* * *

We awoke to sirens outside the window, the sun was streaming in the window. I opened an eye and realised that I hadn't moved all night. Apparently neither had Dean, he was now pressed right up against me, one leg thrown over the top of me, both arms circled around my waist and his cheek was against mine as he sighed softly in his sleep.

I tensed instantly, because it felt _so good _and then I was crushingly aware that it shouldn't, that we couldn't. In that moment I also felt something that had occasionally happened with Sam and I too, but it had never seemed such an issue with Sam. I was intensely aware when I felt Dean's morning erection press against my butt.

"Dean!" I whispered, wondering if he was awake.

"Mmmm?" He asked, shifting a little, which only served to drive home his arousal.

"Hey... did you bring a gun to bed last night, or are you just... really... happy to see me?" I asked, trying to sound casual.

"Huh? Oh!" He pulled away from me quickly and rolled to the side of the bed, swinging his legs over the edge to sit up.

"Sorry," he muttered with an embarrassed look at me.

"It's ok." I said, sitting up myself. Dean was grabbing some clothes from beside him on the floor and he headed for the bathroom.

"I call first shower," he said and I nodded. More than fair. Yet again I found myself being a little thankful that I was a woman.

I was fingering my rosary, sitting on the couch and staring out the window behind it when Dean came out of the shower. I had already dressed, deciding to skip my shower, hair pulled back in a ponytail. I still hadn't been able to look in the mirror for a while, the blonde just was too weird.

"Where's Jefferson?" Dean asked, seeing the absence of the older man.

"Went to get coffee." I said. Dean stretched and nodded.

"How'd you sleep last night?" He asked casually, glancing over at me. I barely heard him, lost in my own thoughts. "Beth?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah, I slept good. Thanks. You?" I asked, looking at him a little shyly.

"Yeah good, great night's sleep." He said.

I smiled and went back to looking at my rosary. Dean frowned and came to sit down next to me.

"You ok?" He asked, looking a little concerned.

"Yeah," I said, glancing up at him. I looked back at the rosary and felt a little sad.

"What's the earliest thing you remember about Dad? I mean, what's the first thing that pops into your head?" I asked. Dean looked surprised at the question and then shook his head. "Come on, tell me." I said, sitting cross legged with my back against the arm of the couch.

Dean considered and then nodded. "I was six or seven, and uh, he took me shooting for the first time. You know, balls on a fence, that kind of thing. I bulls-eyed every one of 'em. He gave me this smile, like... I don't know." He looked down, a little smile on his face.

I smiled. "He'd have loved that, he'd have been proud of you."

Dean looked over at me, then reached out to brush a couple of fingers along the rosary I was holding. "What about your dad?" He asked in turn.

I smiled. "I was still in pigtails when my mom died, before that we lived in Chippewa Falls, near Lake Wissota. My dad used to take us out there every weekend during the Summer." I smiled at the memory. "And my Dad, you know he was a good looking guy, he used to get all this attention from the other mothers and women that would join us from the church – I'm sure the whole minister thing didn't help things along." Dean nodded, watching intently but with a little smile.

"And I used to always be aware, even at such a young age, about how they were flirting with him. I remember saying to my mom one day, didn't it bother her? All these women talking to my dad all the time, and she smiled and she said to me... "there's no need to be jealous baby girl... you look in your daddy's eyes and you see where his heart is." I smiled, just thinking about it.

"He only had eyes for your mom," Dean said quietly.

"Yeah," I said with a smile, tears in my eyes. "The way he looked at her, and me, it was a real, true love. And I just... I feel so privileged to have seen that you know? To know that for some people, it's really out there." Dean frowned slightly.

"What?" I asked, curious about the frown.

"Nothing," he said, looking away. Jefferson burst through the door at that point, all blue eyes and blond tips. I looked up at him and frowned.

"Where's the coffee?" I asked.

"There are cops outside. Another girl disappeared," Jefferson said, looking pained.

* * *

Jefferson was pacing next to the table. "Teresa Ellis, Apartment 2F. Her boyfriend reported her missing around dawn," he reported.

"And her apartment?" Dean asked, getting up and sitting at the table.

"Cracks all over the plaster, walls, ceiling. There was ectoplasm too." Jefferson said, running a hand through his hair.

"Well, between that and that tuft of hair, I'd say this sucker's coming from the walls," Dean said, looking around the apartment.

"But who is it? The building's history is totally clean." Jefferson said, looking at us. I was flipping through the a stack of paperwork I hadn't seen last night. A photograph caught my attention and I picked it up.

"Maybe we're looking in the wrong place," I said quietly.

Dean looked over at me. "What do you mean?"

"Check this out," I said, holding the photo up to them.

"An empty field?" Jefferson asked.

"It's where this building was built. Take a look at the one next door. The windows." I said, pointing to the edge of the photograph.

"Bars." Jefferson said, stunned.

"We're next door to a prison?" Dean asked, frowning and going to the window.

A little while later I was on the phone.

"Thanks Bobby." I said, nodding at Dean who was pacing around the room. "Uh, Bobby? Please don't tell Dad we called... you know..." I listened to Bobby on the other end of the phone curse out John and smiled. "Yeah, ok, thanks again Bobby." I smiled and hung up. Bobby and John hadn't really been talking lately, they were always at odds with each other, they'd had another falling out a few months earlier that meant they were ignoring each other like usual, I was fairly certain they'd get over it in a few months time, but until then we kids were the ones who suffered, Bobby was practically a second Dad to us.

"OK." I said, turning to Jefferson and Dean. "Moyamensing prison. Built in 1835, torn down in 1963. And get this. They used to execute people by hanging them in the empty field next door." I looked up at them, with an appraising look.

"Well, then, we need a list. All the people executed there." Jefferson said, leaning on the table.

"Bobby is already on it, he's going to email us." I said and he nodded.

Half an hour later Dean sat down at the computer and opened up our email. "Wow, that was quick," he muttered, and opened the email from Bobby. Jefferson watched over Dean's shoulder as he scrolled through the list.

"One hundred and fifty-seven names?" Jefferson asked, stunned.

"We've gotta narrow that down." Dean muttered.

"Yes." Jefferson nodded.

"Or else we're gonna be digging up a hell of a lot of stiffs," Dean said with a grin at me. He knew how much I hated digging up bones.

Jefferson frowned and leaned over Dean's shoulder a little more, reaching out to point to a name.

"Herman Webster Mudgett." He said, an amazed tone to his voice.

"Who?" I asked, frowning. I'd never heard of him.

"That was H.H. Holmes' real name," Jefferson said, he stood back and crossed his arms with a frown.

"You've gotta be kiddin' me," Dean said. Heopened up a search engine, tapping away at the keyboard and after a moment he sat back with a long breath. "Yep. Holmes was executed at Moyamensing, May 7, 1896," he confirmed.

"H.H. Holmes himself." Jefferson said, a little awestruck. "What are the odds?"

"Who is this guy?" I asked, curious.

"The term 'multi-murderer'?" Dean said, looking at me and I nodded. "They coined it to describe Holmes. He was American's first serial killer, before anybody knew what a serial killer was."

"He confessed to twenty-seven murders, but some put the real toll at over one hundred," Jefferson said, leaning back against the kitchen bench.

I felt my jaw drop.

"And his victim flavour of choice?" Dean said, turning worried eyes to me. "Pretty, petite blondes. He, uh, he used chloroform to kill them." He paused, thinking, then stood up to start pacing. "Which is what I smelled in the hallway last night. At his place, cops found human remains, bone fragments, and long locks of bloody blonde hair." He stopped and looked at me, conflicted.

"Oh this was a bad idea." He said to Jefferson. Jefferson was starting to look like he agreed with Dean.

"Well, we just find the bones, salt them and burn them, right?" I asked, looking between the pair of them. They exchanged an uncomfortable look.

"Well, it's not going to be that easy," Jefferson said with his British accent. "His body is buried in town, but it's encased in a couple of tonnes of concrete."

"What? Why?" I asked.

"The story goes that he didn't want anybody mutilating his corpse. Because, you know, that's what he used to do." Dean said.

"How do you know all this stuff?" I asked, shaking my head. Dean just smiled.

"You know something. We might have an even bigger problem than that," Jefferson said, starting to walk around the edges of the apartment.

"How does this get bigger?" I asked.

"Holmes built an apartment building in Chicago. He called it the Murder Castle. The whole place was a death factory, they had, uh, trap doors, acid vats, quick lime pits... he built these secret chambers inside the walls. He'd lock his victims in, keep them alive for days. Some he'd suffocate, others he'd let starve to death." Jefferson said, turning to look at us.

The reality of what he'd just said hit me like a tonne of bricks. "So Teresa could still be alive... she could be inside these walls!" I said, standing up and looking around.

Dean was instantly on the move, grabbing the car keys. "We need sledgehammers, crowbars. We've got to smash these walls, anywhere thick enough to hide a girl."

And he was gone, out the door. I didn't move, wondering what to do. Suddenly the door swung back open and Dean looked at me furiously.

"Come on! I told you I'm not letting you out of my sight apple-pie, and I meant it!"

I sighed and followed after him. Some things never changed.

* * *

We'd made one hell of a mess of the apartment, good thing we didn't give our real names on the rental application. Dean took a flash-light and headed into the crawl space behind the wall that we found. Peeking out when I didn't follow immediately.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sticking his head out of the wall. I hesitated, shifting from foot to foot and biting my lip.

"I've kind of got a thing for … small spaces." I admitted, scrunching up my face.

"Are you serious?" Dean asked, looking surprised. I threw him a look that showed him just how serious I was.

"Well, uh...stay here then." Dean said, hesitating, torn between taking me into the walls where there was the potential of encountering a homicidal spirit, or leaving me here, to fall prey to the exact same thing.

I looked at him, thinking it through and decided that I needed to suck it up and get into the walls.

"No, it's ok. I'm coming." I said with a sigh, steeling myself with a nod.

"Atta girl." Dean said with a smile, heading back into the walls. I took a couple of deep breaths, looking around the now empty apartment and shuddered, _OK here goes nothing. _I stepped into the wall, counting to ten, and then hurrying to catch up to Dean.

An hour later we were still crawling about in the walls, I was feeling a little better about it all, having Dean with me helped, but it still felt like everything was closing in on us.

My phone rang and it was Jefferson, updating us on where he was at.

"OK. Call us after you check the southeast wall." I said, and hung up. "Jefferson's almost done with the first floor. Hasn't found jack squat either." I told Dean. He'd come to a stop and was peering ahead of us. "What is it?"

"It's too narrow, I can't go any further." Dean said.

I tried to squeeze past him, sliding across his front. "Let me see."

"What are you? Ugh... shoulda cleaned the pipes." Dean muttered as I collided with his crotch.

"What?" I asked, looking back at him.

"I, uh, I wish the pipes were cleaner." He said.

I frowned at him. "Shut up!" I looked down the crawl space and groaned inwardly. "I can fit in there." I said, looking at Dean.

"You're not going in there by yourself." Dean said immediately.

"You got a better idea?" I asked, still wedged between him and the wall.

"You..." He stopped, thinking.

"Uh-huh, didn't think so." I said squeezing past him the rest of the way and through the narrow space to the other side. I looked back at Dean for a moment and fought off the rising panic. I thought about the missing girl, Teresa, and felt my resolve toughen, moving further into the walls, out of sight of Dean.

My phone rang and I answered it.

"_Where are you?" _Dean asked over the phone.

"By the north wall," I answered, looking around me. I walked a bit further and saw an air duct heading down.

"I'm heading down some kind of air duct," I told Dean.

"_No, no, no, no, stay up here." _Dean said, but I was already half way into it, holding myself up by my elbows, my legs dangling.

"Look, we've gotta find this girl, don't we?" I asked. I took a deep breath and tried not to think about how much more narrow this air duct was going to be than the walls. "I'm ok," I said to Dean.

"_All right. I'm heading to you." _Dean said.

I slipped down the air duct and landed on my feet a small way down, it was the same as above, bricked in walls, with cobwebs and mildew. I shone my flash-light around, looking either side of me, I tried to decide which way would be best to go. Then a black goo started pouring out from the cracks in front of me and my heart stopped.

"Oh god Dean." I said into the phone.

"_What is it?" _Dean's voice came over the phone. "_Beth? Beth!" _

I felt something grab me and I screamed, then everything went black.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

I panicked when I heard the scream and mentally kicked myself for letting her out of my sight.

"Beth!" I yelled, running down to the next level, trying to hear where she was. I took the sledgehammer and made a rough guess at where she'd been, smashing a hole in the wall. I broke into the walls and looked around. My light hit something metallic and I groaned, it was Beth's phone, lying abandoned on the floor. "Beth?" I called out, "Beth?!" There was no answer.

"Son of a bitch!" I said, grabbing the phone and running back up the hallway. I rounded a corner and ran into Jefferson.

"Whoa!" Jefferson said, reeling back to look at me.

"He's got Beth." I said, trying to keep my voice level.

"What? How'd that happen?" Jefferson asked, his eyes instantly worried.

"I wasn't with her, I left her alone. Dammit!" I cursed, stalking down the hallway toward the apartment.

"Hey, look, we'll find her, all right?" Jefferson reassured me, but I was shaking my head.

"Where?" I asked him, looking back.

"Inside the walls." Jefferson said, walking alongside me. I looked at him, all calm and collected, just like the British.

"We've been inside the walls all night. None of the other girls were there, she won't be either."

"Look, we've just got to take a moment and think about this. Maybe we got Holmes' M.O. wrong." Jefferson said entering the apartment and taking a look at the paperwork spread on the table.

"Yeah, well, we'd better friggin' think fast." I said, feeling a panic start to rise in my chest, if anything happened to her, it was going to be all my fault. Beth's phone started to ring and I answered it without thinking.

"Yeah." I said.

"_Dean?_" Dad's voice came over the phone and I grimaced, running a hand over my eyes.

"_Why are you answering Beth's phone? Where is she?" _Dad asked and I stood dead still, trying to think of a way to break this to him that wasn't going to get me shot.

"Uh, she's gonna have to call you back, she's taking care of, uh, feminine business." I said, wincing at the poor excuse.

"_Yeah right. Where is she?" _Dad's voice said, and when I didn't answer right away. _"Dean, where is your sister?!" _

I took a breath. "Look, Dad, we'll get her back." I said quietly,

"_Get her back? Back from what?" _He asked and I sighed.

"The spirit, it took her." I said.

"_What?!" _Dad's voice was pissed and I didn't blame him.

"Well... you wanted to use her as bait... it worked." I said, cringing.

"_I also told you not to let her out of your sight!" _Dad yelled at me and I took a shaky breath. "_Put Jefferson on the phone." _I looked over at Jefferson and he was watching the whole conversation, impassively.

"He wants to talk to you." I said, handing him the phone and kicking a chair clear across the room. It didn't make me feel any better.

"John, it's Jefferson," said the guy, walking slightly away from me. "Look, we'll get her back John, I promise...It won't, I won't let anything happen to her. I'm sorry John, I really am."

He looked over and hung up the phone, handing it back to me.

"Don't beat yourself up Dean. There's nothing you could have done." Jefferson said, walking back to the table.

"Tell me you've got an idea man," I said to him, anxious.

"Maybe. Look. You look at the layout of the Holmes murder castle, there's all the torture chambers inside the walls, right?" He was spreading the blueprints out for us to look at.

"Right," I said, nodding.

"But there's one we haven't considered yet. The one in this basement." He said, looking up with me with calm blue eyes.

"This building doesn't have a basement." I said, frowning.

"Yes, that's right, it doesn't. But, I just noticed this. Beneath the foundation, it looks like part of an old sewer system that hasn't been used for..." I interrupted him, already on my way to the door.

"Let's go." I said, leaving the older guy to follow. I had to get down there, and I had to get down there now.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

It was pitch black when I woke up in a small, dark place, lying on my back. I gasped, trying not to completely freak out. My flash-light was still with me and I turned it on. I felt a rising panic attack in my chest as I came face to face with a wooden wall. Above me were gouge marks from someone's fingernails, I touched them, imagining the countless other girls who had laid here before me, and felt tears well in my eyes.

I stifled a sob with my hand, rolling on to my side, trying to gather my wits around me. Dean would be looking for me, and Jefferson, and I knew they wouldn't stop until they found me. I just had to get through the next few moments alive, and try and figure out how to get out of here. There was some kind of metal plating where I was facing, it had a slot in it and I sat up to look through.

Outside of the chamber I was in was a larger room, all with similar looking metal doors with slots. I heard a noise like a door slamming closed and I startled, trying to listen for more.

"Hello?" I said hesitantly.

"Is – is anybody there?" A girl's voice asked, she sounded terrified.

"Your name's Teresa?" I asked, trying to see where she was.

"Yes," she sniffed, answering me. I closed my eyes, saying a little prayer that we could get out of here alive.

"This probably isn't going to make you feel any better, but... I'm here to rescue you." I rolled my eyes just saying it.

The girl whimpered. "Oh god. He's out there, he's going to kill us!" She cried.

"No, he won't. We're getting out. My brother is looking for us, he'll find us." I promised her, hoping that he found us sooner rather than later.

Quiet footsteps sounded nearby and I knew it was the spirit, it was coming toward us. I tried to control my breathing, I was already panicked enough with the enclosed space, it was starting to close in on me and I pulled my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my knees as I rocked to try and calm myself.

"Oh god, it's him!" Teresa screamed.

"Shhh! Just be quiet!" I told her and sat still, watching.

She fell silent, and then there was a creepy black hand reaching through the slot toward me. It was elongated and withered, black and splotchy. I couldn't control it, a scream just rose from my mouth as the hand grabbed a chunk of hair and ripped it from my skull.

A mouth appeared at the opening, and I crawled back as far as I could, wrapping my rosary around my wrist, holding it to my forehead as I tried to calm myself.

"You're so pretty. So beautiful," his voice said through the slot.

"Go to Hell!" I muttered. His hand reached through the opening again, this time it wasn't rough. He reached out and ran his hand along my hair, down my shoulder and arm. I groaned in disgust, a shudder passing down my body. I turned quickly and I jammed my wrist with the rosary against his arm. He screamed and pulled it back, reacting to the iron findings that held all the beads in place.

"How do you like that?" I asked him, with a smile. "Pure iron, you creepy-ass son of a bitch!" I kissed my Dad's rosary and said a thank you to him for being who he was, and knowing what he did when he made this rosary.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

Jefferson and I were walking down the streets, he had the metal detector, I had the shovel. Jefferson nodded toward an open field nearby and ran the metal detector ahead of us. The detector whined over a patch of grass and he nodded at me.

"Here." Jefferson said, indicating I should dig. Within minutes I'd uncovered a metal trapdoor, it led underground. Jefferson reached down and pulled it open.

We had found a tunnel, but it was small and narrow. Jefferson went first, crawling on hands and knees, and I brought up the rear. All I could think about was getting to Beth in time, these tunnels were taking forever!

Finally we came out into a larger area and Jefferson nodded to me, handing me a small iron bar and moving into the antechamber.

"Is he gone?" I heard a girl ask, the question echoed through the tunnel toward us and we turned in it's direction. It wasn't Beth, maybe it was the other missing girl.

"I don't know." Beth answered her, and my heart almost stopped at the sound of her voice. I took a deep breath and fought from running down the tunnel to her right then and there, I had to keep my head in the game, my focus on the spirit.

Suddenly there was the sound of a scuffle and a few shrieks from one of the girls. Jefferson and I broke into a run, heading toward the sound. The spirit was in the room over and I saw it clear as day, reaching into a compartment that it was standing in front of.

"Hey!" I yelled, getting its attention. It turned to me and I swung the iron bar, the spirit disappeared.

"Beth?!" I called out, spinning in a circle.

"I'm here!" She replied, reaching through the slot in a metal door nearby.

I used the bar I was carrying to pry open the door, glancing over at Jefferson. He'd found the other girl in another compartment.

"We're going to get you out of here, all right?" Jefferson said to the terrified girl using his own bar to pry open the door in front of him.

"Hang on," I said to Beth, finally the door opened and I pulled her out into my arms, holding her tight. "Are you all right?" I asked. She clung to me just as tight, a few muffled sobs into my chest before she pulled herself together, looking up at me.

"I've been better," she said, and I shook my head at her tenacity. "Let's get the hell out of here before he comes back."

"Actually," I said, biting my lip. "I don't think you're leaving here just yet." I said to her.

"What?" She asked.

"Remember when I said you being bait was a bad plan?" She nodded at me, big brown eyes looking scared. "Now it's kind of the only one we got."

Jefferson had pulled the other girl out and had her in his arms, she looked shaken, but alive. I looked at him and he nodded, we had to go through with it, it was the only way.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

I was sitting in the middle of the same chamber that Jefferson and Dean had been in just moments before. I huddled with my knees up to my chest, arms wrapped tightly around them, trembling, fighting off the terror that was clutching at my heart. Dean was right nearby I told myself, and he wasn't going to let anything happen to me.

I heard him behind me, Holmes, as soon as he appeared and every part of my body screamed at me to get out of there, but I resisted. I took a deep, shaky breath, blinking hard, and I waited.

Suddenly Dean yelled "Now!" I sprang into action, diving forward away from the spirit. Gunshots echoed around me as Jefferson and Dean shot at the bags we'd tied to the wall. Salt fell by the pounds in a neat circle, enclosing the entire chamber.

I scrambled toward the exit and Dean swung it open, hands grabbing me and pulling me out of the reach of Holmes. I clung to him like a lifeline, the terror suddenly crashing down around me.

"Oh god Dean." I said, burying my face in his chest, shaking all over. He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, his heart was pounding under his chest, belying the calm exterior he was showing. I looked up and his eyes were staring at me, they washed from worry and concern to relief.

His face was just inches from mine and I felt his lips hovering over mine, conflict in his eyes. I swallowed, not daring to move, staring at him. I leaned up, brushing my lips across his, just barely touching him and he leaned into me, moving to kiss me.

The moment was broken by a keening noise behind us, I turned to see Holmes' spirit circling the chamber behind the door we'd shut.

"Yeah scream all you want, you son of a bitch, but there's no way you're getting over that salt!" Dean yelled at him through the grate on the door.

He looked at me a long moment and then sighed, wrapping an arm in the same old brotherly fashion he always did around my neck, pulling me with him. I wrapped my arm around his waist and let him lead me down to the way out.

A few hours later I was waiting with Jefferson at the manhole. Dean had disappeared on an errand and I was soaking up the sunlight, my horror of small spaces and night time having just had a really good run for their money.

"So, do you find this job to be as glamorous as you thought it would be three years ago?" Jefferson asked, smiling down at me.

"Well, except for all the pee-your-pants terror, yeah." I said looking up at him. "I never had any illusions about how risky it was, how terrifying it could be. But Teresa's going to live because of us. It kind of makes it all worth it, don't you think?" I said.

"Yes. Yes I suppose it does." Jefferson said with a smile.

"So what if some body finds that sewer down there, or a storm washes the salt away?" I asked, it suddenly occurring to me that the ring of salt wasn't going to last forever.

"Both very fine points," Jefferson said in his halting British accent. "Which is why we're waiting here."

I raised an eyebrow at him questioningly. "For what?"

There was the loud sound of a reversing truck heading toward us and I looked up. Jefferson looked over his shoulder and smiled. I looked to see a cement mixer backing into the field, stopping just over the sewer entrance. Dean was driving and he smiled at me in the mirror when he caught me looking.

"For that," Jefferson said with a chuckle, waving at Dean. "Whoa!" He held up his hand and Dean stopped the truck, getting out of the cab. I watched as he and Jefferson set up the little slide for the cement to run down.

"You ripped off a cement truck?" I asked Dean. He grinned and nodded.

"I'll give it back," he said with a wink. Jefferson flipped a lever on the mixer and cement started to pour into the entrance."Well that ought to keep him down there until Hell freezes over," Dean said with a chuckle and I smiled, nodding. Jefferson was looking pleased with himself, watching the cement disappear into the hole.

* * *

**Impala  
****Cicero, Indiana****  
**

It had been a quiet ten hour drive back to John and Sam. I found myself incredibly confused about the past few days and all the little moments Dean and I had shared. That near-kiss had me reeling and I fought not to bring it up, scared of what it could mean.

Dean was equally as silent, staring ahead, eyes on the road. When we reached the motel, he shut off the car and turned to me.

"Look, Beth..." He said to me, turning to look over at me. "About before..."

"It's ok Dean, it was just... the heat of the moment, relief that we were both ok." I said, looking out the windshield.

He sighed, sitting back and I glanced over at him.

"Are you sure that was all? Because, I could have sworn there was something else going on there." He said, his eyes looking conflicted.

I fought back tears and sniffed, not daring to look at him.

"You're my brother Dean." I said quietly.

"Not really." He said softly. "Not if you don't want me to be."

I sighed and looked over at him, sadness in my eyes. "It's all I can give you Dean... I promised Dad. _We _promised Dad." His eyes darkened and he took a deep breath, suddenly he was poker-faced and I couldn't read anything into his face.

"I'm sorry Dean," I whispered, but he shook his head.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have … I'm sorry Beth. You're right. Dad's right. And I screwed up, I disobeyed one of Dad's orders this week and it nearly got you killed." He looked at me, pained, the fear of what might have happened bleeding through in his eyes.

"You saved me though," I said softly with a smile. "You came for me."

"I'll always come for you Beth," he said to me solemnly, a promise in his eyes. I had a moment to think about how it was the same look my dad used to give my mom, and it caught my breath. I blinked, and it was gone. He was back to being impassive, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Come on," he said, nodding toward the motel room. "Time to face the music." He meant John of course, who was still seething over Dean having let me get captured in the first place. I sighed, and gave him a worried look.

"I'll go first, maybe he won't go so hard on you if he sees me all right," I said quietly. He smiled and nodded, we both knew there was no getting out of whatever punishment John was going to put Dean through, but we could work together to lessen the impact of it.

* * *

**Main Street  
Cicero, Indiana**

A few days later I stood in the shadows, watching as he walked along the pavement with his arm wrapped around the girl, she was pretty, petite, brunette... like me I noticed. They stopped to make out against the fence in front of her apartment building and I fought down all those feelings coming up in me, I had no right to be jealous, no right to expect that he deny himself of some kind of comfort when I couldn't give it.

I felt someone come up beside me, just standing comfortably next to me, I looked away from the scene in front of me, sighing.

"You know, John isn't always right on some things." Jefferson said, looking down at me. I bit my lip, saying nothing.

"It's clear as day to me that there's something between you both, and I only spent a few days with you." Jefferson nodded in the direction of Dean and the girl as they made their way up the stairs into the building.

"What are you doing here Jefferson?" I asked, turning to look up at him.

"Just wanted to check up on you, make sure you were ok after everything that happened." He smiled at me.

"You sure you want to keep going on like this? You're both old enough to tell John to stick it up his ass you know." Jefferson said, concern showing in his eyes – I gaped, it was the first time I'd heard this prim and proper Brit use such crude language.

"I can't, I made a promise." I said quietly.

"Beth," Jefferson said, turning to me and putting his hands on my shoulders. "I used to be a lawyer," he said with a smirk, and I raised my eyebrow. "I can tell you right now, that no contract signed by a fifteen year old girl would hold up in a court of law. That's what this is, it's an agreement you made way before you were old enough to understand what it would mean."

"Well this life is something we all fall into, most of us too young. Dean didn't ask for this either when his mom was killed, but this is where we are. Dad has rules for a reason, it's to keep us all safe." I said, reciting all the reasons I used every day to fight my growing feelings for Dean.

Jefferson dropped his hands and sighed. "You're a Winchester all right," he muttered, and I looked at him curious. "You're as stubborn as the rest of them."

I smiled, looking down at my hands. Well, there was that.

"He cares for you Beth." Jefferson said. "You should have seen him when you were missing." I looked up sharply at that.

"Well he has a funny way of showing it." I said, nodding to the building Dean had just gone inside.

Jefferson sighed. "You're still very young Beth, in many ways. Naive. I was Dean's age once you know." I smiled at that. "This is his way of fighting his feelings, working through them." I bit my lip and glanced back at the building.

"Take it from someone who knows – you can't have it both ways. If you harbour feelings for him, and expect him to wait for you, you'll only get hurt. You have to let him go. These feelings, they will eat you up inside and him too – you can't lead him on, you can't sit on the fence, it's not fair." He looked up at the building.

I sighed, he was right. It wasn't fair to Dean, to be hot and then cold all the time as we battled with John's mandate for us.

"It's not too late for you to get out Beth, find someone to love you as much as you care for Dean. Have a normal life." He looked down when he said that last part.

I sighed, staring up at the building. A normal life. What was that? I had nothing to say. Maybe it would be easier, but it hurt too much to think about moving on. More than it hurt to watch Dean go off with other women.

"Tell him you love him, or let him go." Jefferson said quietly. I sighed and nodded.

He put his arm around me in a big brotherly fashion and pulled me toward the bar across the street.

"Come on, let's get a drink, talk about more cheerful things. Did you know Sammy wants to go to college and become a doctor or something?" He laughed at that. "He should go into law, he'd be good at that." I laughed at the change of subject, obviously Jefferson had gotten caught talking to Sam for a while when he called in to see Dean and me.

"Well we could probably use a lawyer in the family..." I said with a laugh, and I glanced once more down toward the building before setting my resolve. I'd try harder, be a better daughter to John, a better sister to Dean and Sam. I'd try not to love him, even if it killed me. Not just for John, but for all of us, because the thought of leaving left an even bigger hole in my heart. Tomorrow would be a better day.

* * *

_But if there's a pill to help me forget,  
God knows I haven't found it yet  
But I'm dying to, God I'm trying to_

_'Cause trying not to love you, only goes so far_  
_And trying not to need you, is tearing me apart_  
_Can't see the silver lining, from down here on the floor_  
_And I just keep on trying, but I don't know what for_  
_'Cause trying not to love you_  
_Only makes me love you more_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Hope you enjoyed our little foray into pre-relationship Dean & Beth. This is set about three years before they get together, and is kind of the start of the build up until she admits her feelings for him in Kittanning.

* * *

Two songs because I couldn't decide which I like more and they're both so heart breakingly achy!

1st: Clarity, by Zedd  
2nd : Trying not to love you by Nickelback

* * *

Trivia: Jefferson is one of the hunters' names mentioned at the start of Season 1 when they are all looking for John. As far as I know (and it's not in the Supernatural Wiki either) he's not mentioned again in the series – so I thought I might give him a personality, and this is what I came up with. I kind of pictured Paul Bethany in his part, love that guy – he's a brilliant actor!

* * *

OK I'm away for 3 days, then starting my job first day I get back, so time will be pressed for me unless I can get a little writing done while I'm on holidays. Likely there won't be an update for about 5 days :( I suggest chocolate, DVDs of Supernatural, and a re-read of _Highway to Hell _if you're missing Dean & Beth ;)

* * *

Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! I thought it was a lot better than annoying Jo ;) - ironically, I only just realised that Jo's middle name is Beth LOL Ellen calls her "Joanna Beth" in this episode.

* * *

Hmmm, which leads me to another question. Who wants to suggest a middle name for Beth? Keeping in mind that legally her first name is Elizabeth.


	8. The Usual Suspects

_Reach down your hand in your pocket__**  
**__Pull out some hope for me__**  
**__It's been a long day, always ain't that right__**  
**__And no Lord your hand won't stop it__**  
**__Just keep you trembling__**  
**__It's been a long day, always ain't that right_

* * *

**THE USUAL SUSPECTS**

* * *

_**Cafe  
Three Days Ago**_

I had been chattering away for a good couple of minutes watching as Dean got more and more sidetracked, looking at the paper. He was now totally caught up in whatever it was that he was reading. I leaned forward with a smile.

"And that's when I realised... I was totally carrying Johnny Depp's baby and not only was it a baby, it was twins! Now you tell me how I'm supposed to break that to the man?" I said casually, Dean nodded at me as if he was listening.

"Mmhmmm... I can see how that might be a prob..." He looked up sharply at me, frowning and I raised my eyebrow. "Wait, what did you say?" He asked.

I smirked and leaned back in my chair as Sam put my coffee in front of me, flashing him a smile.

"Nothing," I said, picking up my coffee and taking a tentative sip in case it was really hot. "Now you want to tell me what's got you so entranced with that newspaper?"

He held up the front page to Sam and me, the headline read: _Man's Throat Slit Without A Trace. _I raised an eyebrow and tilted my head to the side a little, trying to read some of the print.

"Anthony Giles?" I asked, catching a name under a photo.

"He's a Baltimore lawyer. Working late in his office, check it out." Dean said, sliding the newspaper over to me.

I turned it to face me and quickly scanned the article, Sam reading over my shoulder.

"Uh... throat was slit, room was clean. Huh. No DNA, no prints..." I looked up a Dean, he smiled at me.

"Keep reading, it gets better," he said.

Sam started to read the next paragraph. "'Security cameras failed to capture footage of the assailant,'" he quoted from the article. I glanced up at Dean, curious expression on my face, he grinned knowing that I was intrigued.

"So I'm thinking either somebody tampered with the tapes..." he said.

"Or it's an invisible killer." I finished, nodding.

"My favourite kind." Dean said with a smile, then looked at Sam. "What do you think, Scully? You wanna check it out?"

Sam frowned and looked at him. "I'm not Scully, Beth's Scully, she's the girl." He looked over at me and I shook my head.

"No way, I'm Skinner, because I'm the boss," I said with a grin.

"And I'm Mulder. You're the red-headed woman Sam, end of story." Dean said, taking a drink of his coffee. Sam just stared at us both, rolling his eyes. Either way way, we were definitely going to check out Baltimore.

* * *

_**Baltimore, Maryland  
Yesterday**_

We were sitting in the home of Karen Giles, wife of Anthony, the man who had been murdered. She was a young woman with dark hair and dark-framed glasses. Her eyes were red and face blotchy from crying. Clearly, she was devastated at what had happened to her husband.

Sam and Dean were in their suits, and sitting on the couch in front of her, I hovered behind them for a moment before taking a seat in one of the armchairs.

"Insurance. I totally forgot about the insurance," Karen said, shaking her head.

"We're very sorry to bother you right now, but the company is required to conduct its own investigation. You understand." Sam said to her, turning on the puppy-dog eyes.

"Sure," Karen said with a shrug, nodding.

"OK. Um. If you could just tell us anything you remember about the night your husband died?" Sam asked gently.

Karen looked thoughtful before starting to speak. "Uh, Tony and I were just supposed to have dinner. He called and said he was having computer troubles and that, that he had to work late. That was it," she said.

"Do you have any idea who could have done this to him?" I asked, making pretend notes on a notepad.

"No. No, it's like I told the police, I, I have no idea." Karen said, shaking her head.

"Did Tony mention anything, you know, unusual to you? In the days before his death?" Dean chimed in.

Karen looked confused. "Unusual?"

"Yeah, like strange," Dean asked, tilting his head to the side.

She was still baffled by the question, shaking her head. "Strange?"

Dean looked a little frustrated. "You know, Karen, weird? Weird noises, uh, visions, anything like that?" He asked. I threw him a warning glance at the tone and he took a deep breath.

"He had a nightmare the day before he died," Karen said finally, looking as if she didn't know how it would be relevant.

"What kind of a nightmare?" Sam asked.

"Uh, he said that he woke up in the middle of the night and there was a woman standing at the foot of the bed, he blinked and she was gone, I mean, it was just a nightmare," she said with a shrug.

"Did he say what she looked like?" Dean asked.

"What the hell difference does it make what she looked like?" Karen asked with a scowl.

"Uh, it's just, our, our company's very thorough." Dean said, grasping for a good reason. She looked doubtful, but then shrugged.

"He said she was pale, and she had dark red eyes."

I exchanged a look with Dean, we both shrugged, the description didn't really mean much on its own.

* * *

_**Anthony Giles' Office  
Present Day**_

Sam picked the lock to Anthony Giles' office and we all entered the room, ducking under the police tape that was in our way. There was a pool of blood still on the floor.

"So, Anthony Giles' body was found right about here," Sam said, gesturing to the blood and reading from some paperwork. "Throat slit so deep part of his spinal cord was visible." I grimaced, shaking my head at the image, that was just disturbing.

Dean whistled in awe. "What do you think? Vengeful spirit? Underlining _vengeful?" _He asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I mean he did see that woman at the foot of his bed," Sam said with a shrug.

I was by the desk, taking a look around when a sheet of paper caught my attention.

"Guys, take a look at this," I said, holding up the paper. It was covered in a small font with the word "danashulps" repeated over and over until it filled the page.

"Dana Shulps. A name?" Sam asked, looking at us both. Dean frowned and looked at the other papers on the desk.

"I don't know, but it's everywhere," Dean said, holding up some more sheets with the same writing on it. "Well all work and no play make Jack a dull boy," he said with a grin.

Sam looked at the glass table in front of him, raising an eyebrow. He breathed on to the glass, and the same letters – DANASHULPS – were revealed with the heat of his breath.

"Wow. OK. I'd say we've officially crossed over into weird," I said, staring at the table.

"Maybe Giles knew her?" Dean suggested, taking another look at the paper in his hand.

"Or maybe it's the name of our pale red-eyed mystery girl," Sam said, standing up and taking a step back from the table.

I looked around the office, internally groaning at the amount of filing cabinets in the room. "Well. Let's see what we can see," I said, taking out a pick so that I could unlock the first filing cabinet.

A few hours later and we had found nothing. We'd looked through all the computer files, the filing cabinets, and the paper files that had been sitting in the desk. Nothing. Sam was still working away at the computer on the desk, Dean and I were leaning side by side against the filing cabinets.

"There's not a single mention of a Dana Shulps anywhere. There's not a D. Shulps. Or any other kind of friggin' Shulps." Dean said with a frustrated sigh.

"Great," Sam said, frowning.

"What have you got?" Dean asked Sam while sliding his arm around my waist.

"Nothing. No Dana Shulps has ever lived or died in Baltimore in the last fifty years at least," Sam said, looking up at us.

"So what now?" I asked, leaning against Dean, enjoying the warmth of his body.

"Well, I think I'm pretty close to cracking Giles' password. Maybe there's something in his personal files, you know?" Sam said, looking hopeful.

Dean looked at his brother, dubious. "By close you mean...?"

"Thirty minutes, maybe?" Sam said with a shrug.

Dean looked at his watch and sighed. "Awesome," he muttered, looking at me. "So I guess we just get to... uh... hang out." I smiled, waiting was never Dean's strong suit.

Sam looked back at the computer, concentrating. Dean threw me a grin and guided me over to the love-seat that was against the wall in the office, sitting down and pulling me down into his lap. He started to kiss his way along my neck, and I tried not to giggle as he tickled me with his tongue.

He was in a playful mood, but it turned serious after a few minutes when he started to kiss me in earnest, his lips moving to claim mine with a hunger. He shifted me into a more comfortable position, sideways on his lap, and snaked a hand up under my shirt, brushing it along my bare skin. We both moaned a little with the touch as we kissed.

Sam looked up at us in disgust. "Guys! Seriously?" He asked, shaking his head at us. We broke apart from the kiss, Dean still had his hand under my shirt, but it had stilled. He looked at me, eyes full of playful ideas, but then he sighed – we both knew we should be focusing on the job at hand.

"All right, we're gonna go talk to Karen again, see if she knows anything about this Dana Shulps, ok?" Dean said, helping me up off his lap.

"Great," Sam said, looking back at his computer again.

"Keep going Sparky," Dean said with an amused expression, then he grabbed my hand and pulled me out the door.

"Try not to get sidetracked, huh?" Sam called out to us as we left. Dean snorted and led me toward the car.

* * *

When we got to Karen Giles' house Dean turned off the car and looked over at me, running a hand along my neck and up into my hair.

"You know, I can think of a few better things to be doing than questioning this woman..." he said suggestively and I grinned. I slid over to him and kissed him lingeringly on the lips.

"Mmm, sounds great," I said, but then frowned. "But it's getting late, she might not be a night owl like us," I said, looking up at the house where there was still a light on.

Dean sighed and nodded. "Yeah ok, but afterwards, we're going to go find a nice little secluded lookout somewhere... you know, where all the kids go to get their fun on, and maybe we can christen the back seat now it's practically brand new?" He said with a smile, kissing me again. I nodded, wishing we could just get to it right now.

"Deal," I said with a grin, and I slid back to the door, getting out before he managed to change my mind about going to talk to Karen.

I knocked on the door when we got to the front porch.

"Karen, you in there?" I called out when there wasn't an answer. Dean shrugged and took out the lock picks from his pocket, glancing around to see if there were any people out for an evening stroll. There wasn't.

He picked the look and let us into the house, flipping the switch – the light didn't work. We walked through the house, looking for Karen, and I gasped when I entered the living room.

Karen was lying in a pool of blood, her throat slashed, just like her husband's had been. Dean exchanged a look with me, one that wanted to know what the hell was going on.

There was a little alcove off the living room which had a desk, I had wandered over to it, and noticed there was about ten pages of printed document uncollected from the tray. I lifted a page and frowned, looking up at Dean.

"Dana Shulps," I said. The paper was filled with the word, just like at Giles' office. Dean frowned.

"Seriously, what the hell?" He asked, kneeling down by Karen's body. He lifted a wrist and pointed out the bruises that were there.

"Freeze!" A woman's voice said, and Dean looked up, surprised. "Stay on your knees. Hands where I can see them. Now!" Dean complied, throwing me a look that said to stay hidden. I dropped back into the shadows of the alcove, watching Dean look over at the policewoman.

"Cuff him," the policewoman said and I swallowed. There were two of them. I realised the alcove had another entrance, one that was behind me and led to the kitchen. I looked back at Dean, hesitating, but his look was clear – I was to leave him and get out. I blew him a kiss with a worried look, and then I got out of there. He was right, no point in us both getting caught. I had to get to Sam.

The Impala was surrounded by a couple of cop cars, so I had to go on foot. By the time I was able to flag down a taxi and get to the motel, Sam was being escorted out of the room by police. What on earth was going on here? How had they found us so quickly?

"Stop, uh, you know what?" I said to the taxi driver, thinking quickly. "I'm gonna need to make another stop. Is there a 24 hour department store nearby?" I asked. He looked at me strangely, but then nodded. I looked at the jeans and leather jacket I was wearing, I was going to need a new outfit.

* * *

_**Police Station**_

An hour later, the taxi was pulling up in front of the police station, and I was slipping into my new heels, and tossing my previous outfit in the duffel bag I'd just purchased. I got out and handed the taxi driver a fist full of bills I'd withdrawn from an ATM, paying him double what the fare had been.

"Thanks for that," I said with a smile and he gaped at the money.

"Hey no problem, any time lady," he said with a smile and pulled away from the station. I straightened my new outfit, a knee-length black pinstriped skirt, white shirt and black jacket. I had a brief case in one hand, the duffel in the other. The latter I hid in the bushes before taking a deep breath, running my hand through my hair, and heading into the station. I repeated the mantra John had always taught us when going undercover... _I belong here, I belong here, I belong here._

"Can I help you?" A policewoman asked, as I came into the foyer.

"Yes, Beth Andrews, with the public defender's office." I said to her, smiling. She frowned at me and then glanced down at the sign-in book.

"I already have someone from your office signed in, Jeffrey Kraus?" She said, looking at me questioningly. I frowned, thinking that had been awfully quick for the office to get here.

"Uh, yes, but there's two in custody, isn't there?" I asked innocently. She frowned at me.

"Yes," she confirmed.

"I'm here for the other one." I said with a smile. She shrugged and had me sign in, then showed me down the hallway to the interview rooms. There was a middle-aged man with a kind face standing out the front of one of the rooms, he was conversing with a male detective, tall, dark, handsome – but with a mean streak to him, you could see it in his eyes. They were talking about someone's rights to speak with their attorney, the detective didn't like it and was stalling.

"Jeffrey!" I said, going with a hunch, and the middle-aged man turned to look at me.

"Yes?" He asked, confused, clearly he didn't know who I was.

"I knew I recognised you from court. Beth Andrews," I said, extending my hand. "The office has sent me down to assist you in deposing our client." I said to him, and he shook my hand with a smile.

"Well, highly irregular," he said, looking from me to the detective who was staring at me with cold eyes.

"I'm new, fresh from the bar exams, you might say. They want me to tag along with some of the more high level attorneys, get a look in on how things work," I explained, and Kraus started nodding, pleased with the flattering I'd done.

"Yes, yes of course. Please, come on in." He looked at the detective. "I was just about to go and see our client." The detective sighed and waved him past to an interview room door. Kraus inclined his head and walked past, I followed.

Kraus knocked on the door, and then stuck his head into the room.

"Mr. Winchester?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Dean's voice came from inside the room. I kept my face neutral, but my heart skipped a beat just hearing him.

"I'm Jeffrey Kraus. I'm with the public defender's office," Kraus said, stepping further into the room. "I'm your lawyer." He said, shuffling his feet.

"Oh. Thank god. I'm saved." Dean's response came, deadpan. I smiled to myself at Dean's comment, and stepped around the corner coming into the room. Jeffrey had taken a seat at the table. Dean's eyes widened a little when he saw me, and then he relaxed a little with a smile.

"Who are you?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Beth Andrews," I said, extending my hand as I walked up to him, leaning against the table. He took my hand and looked up at me, squeezing my hand a little longer than he should have. I grimaced at the cuff holding him to the table and mentally kicked myself for not bringing a paper-clip. My eyes asked him silently if he was ok, and he nodded slightly. "I'm also your lawyer," I said to him out loud and he grinned.

"My prayers have been answered," he said with a wink. I stepped away and sat on the chair between Dean and Kraus, crossing my legs. Dean took a moment to admire the fact that I was in a skirt, and shook his head appreciatively.

"Mr. Winchester," Kraus said, clearing his throat drawing Dean's gaze to him, "we need to discuss the charges..."

"Hey, could I, uh, steal a pen from you? Some paper?" Dean interrupted, and Kraus looked at him confused.

"Uh, sure," he said, nodding. He opened in his briefcase and handed Dean a pen and piece of paper, Dean started scribbling, I leaned forward to try and see what he was writing, while Kraus continued.

"Uh, well, the police haven't found a weapon yet. So that's good. But, uh, they got your prints. And literally blood on your hands. And with your police record, uh..." Kraus faltered, realising that Dean was completely ignoring him.

"Mr. Winchester? What are you doing?" Kraus asked, confused.

Dean paused, still looking at his scribblings, then he glanced up at me catching my eye. "I think it's an anagram," and I nodded slightly.

"A what?" Kraus asked, leaning forward a little.

"An anagram," Dean said, now looking over at him. He spun the pad toward both me and Kraus. "Uh, do me a favour? See if you recognise any of these words, you know, local names, places, anything like that?"

Kraus frowned. "Do you understand how serious these charges are?" He asked.

"I'm handcuffed to a table." Dean said with a slight smile and gesture to the cuffs. "Yeah, I get it. Humour me." Kraus threw me a look and I shrugged, leaning forward to look at the pad.

We looked at the pad, but I couldn't make sense of any of the different anagrams Dean had come up with.

"Well, S-U-P, I don't know about that, but Ashland is a street name. Not far from here." Kraus said.

"A street," Dean asked, throwing a look at me. He started to tear a piece of paper off the bottom of the pad and began writing again.

Kraus nodded, and then looked at his papers again. "Let's start with where you were the night Anthony Giles died."

"Can you get in to see my brother?" Dean asked, ignoring him. Kraus took a deep breath and frowned.

"Mr. Winchester, you could be facing the death penalty here," he said with concern.

Dean looked up at him, unconcerned. "Hey thanks for the law review, Matlock. But. If you want to help me..." he held up the note, looking at Kraus. "I need you to see my brother."

I sat forward, nodding and taking the note. "I'm sure that can be arranged, couldn't it Jeffrey?" I asked, looking at Kraus. He was frowning at Dean, then at me, but he didn't disagree.

Dean turned to me and then suddenly grinned. "What the heck," he muttered, reaching out with his free hand to grab me behind my neck, pulling me to him for a deep, sensual kiss. I nearly groaned, but then remembered my cover, pushing him away from me.

"Mr. Winchester!" I exclaimed, trying my hardest to look shocked. "That... is... completely inappropriate!" I said, licking my lips and standing up. Kraus was voicing his complaints, standing next to me.

"Well, hey, I could be going away for a long time... pretty girl like you... not going to come across them for a while," Dean quipped and I shook my head. I looked down at the folded note in my hand and Dean's eyes turned serious.

"My brother?" He said, nodding at Kraus. The lawyer was flabbergasted at his client. He ushered me out the door and I threw a glance back at Dean, still cuffed to the table as the door closed, I hated to leave him there, but right now there was no other choice.

* * *

The detectives were with Sam when we asked about seeing him. There was some question as to whether we could go in with him or not, but something to do with him not being formally charged, and not having requested a lawyer, meant that we couldn't demand entry.

We were allowed to watch from the observation window however, I saw to that.

A detective by the name of Ballard had entered the room and placed a cup of coffee in front of Sam.

"Thought you might be thirsty," she said. Sam smirked.

"OK, so you're the good cop." Sam said, looking at the coffee. He spread his arms out in a questioning stance. "Where's the bad cop?" Sam asked.

"Oh, he's with your brother," Ballard lied, they'd already questioned Dean – but Sam didn't know that.

"OK. And you're holding us why?" Sam asked.

"Well, he's being held on suspicion of murder. And you, we'll see," Ballard said, watching him carefully. Sam leaned forward on the table, looking shocked.

"Murder?!" He said, surprised.

"You sound genuinely surprised. Or are you that good of an actor?" Ballard asked.

"Who was he supposed to have murdered?!" Sam asked, frowning.

"We'll get around to that," she said.

Sam started to stand straight again. "Well you can't just hold us here without formal charges!" He said.

"Well actually, we can, for forty eight hours, but you being a pre-law student, would know that. I know all about you, Sam," she countered. I bit my lip, she was right.

Ballard picked up a file and read from it. "You're twenty three years old, no job, no home address. Your mother died when you were a baby, your father's whereabouts are currently _unknown_. And then there's the case of your brother Dean. Whose demise was, well, just a little bit exaggerated. Feel free to jump in whenever you like." She paused to appraise Sam, who was standing still, fighting his emotions. He went and leaned against the wall, folding his arms.

"Shy?" Ballard asked, looking at Sam who didn't respond. "No problem. I'll keep going. Your family moved around a lot when you were a kid. Despite that, you were a straight-A student. Got into Stanford with a full ride." She closed the file. "Then about a year ago there was a fire in your apartment. One fatality. Jessica Moore, your girlfriend. After she died, you fell off the grid. Left behind everything."

Sam was barely containing his fury. "I needed some time off. To deal. So I'm taking a road trip with my brother." He'd gotten himself under control, the calmness returning to his eyes. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"How's that going for you?" Ballard asked, leaning on the table across from him.

Sam smirked and pulled up a chair, straddling it and leaning on the back. "Great. I mean... we saw the second largest ball of twine in the continental US. Awesome."

Ballard approached him from the side. "We ran Dean's fingerprints through AFIS," she said.

Sam nodded. "OK."

"Got over a dozen possible hits," she said, leaning on the table.

"Possible hits," Sam smirked. "Which makes them worthless."

"But it makes you wonder. What are we gonna find when we run your prints?" She asked.

"Yeah, well," Sam said with a half-laugh, pounding his fist on the table. "You be sure to let me know, all right?" He pointed at the cup of coffee. "May I?"

"Please," she said, nodding. Sam picked up the cup and took a sip while Ballard leaned over him intently.

"Sam, you seem like a good kid. It's not your fault Dean's your brother. We can't pick our family. Right now detectives in St. Louis are exhuming a corpse. They're trying to figure out how your brother faked his own death. After torturing all those young women. Dean's a bad guy. His life is over. Yours doesn't have to be," she said. I found myself thinking about what a terrible place Sam and I would be in without a brother like Dean...maybe someone wouldn't pick him on the surface, to be family, but they'd be an idiot not, there was no one loyal, no one more protective. I had to get him out of here, my own protectiveness was in overdrive.

Sam looked at her incredulously.

"You want me to turn on my own brother?" He asked.

"No. We already caught him cold. Red-handed at the Karen Giles murder scene. We just need you to fill in some missing pieces." Ballard said.

"Why would I do that?" Sam asked.

"Because I can talk to the DA. Make a deal for you. You can get on with your life. Dean's as good as gone." Ballard said, sitting down. Sam looked distressed, then started to talk quietly.

"My dad and Tony Giles were old friends. They were in the service together. We've known him since we were kids, you know? So we came as soon as we heard about his death." I watched quietly, listening to our cover story, the one we'd all agreed on if anything went wrong. How I hadn't thought we'd need to be using it this time yesterday. Now I was grateful that John had taught us to be thorough with our investigations. I listened as Sam told her about how he and Dean had gone to visit Karen and then left her.

"So I gave Karen a hug, told her to call me if she needed anything," Sam said, finishing up. "And that was it. End of story."

"Sam, I am trying to help you here. But you have got to be honest with me. Now we have an eyewitness. Someone who saw two men fitting your and your brother's description, along with a girl, breaking into Giles' office." Ballard said. I swallowed hard, we'd been sloppy, not good.

Sam stared at her.

"Who's the girl?" Ballard asked. "Obviously, she wasn't with you when we picked you up."

"Obviously she wasn't with Dean either," Sam said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh I'm sure she'll turn up." Ballard said confidently. "Some of the reports I've got here state that there is a woman often seen with Dean, never far away. There's also a mention of a girl you schooled with... a sister?"

Sam stared at her impassively. She was reaching, and it was obvious. "I don't have a sister," Sam said.

"No, not according to the records, but then, these things can sometimes be inaccurate... illegitimate children have a way of cropping up off record." Ballard said. "Or maybe she's not a sister, after all, she's always seen with Dean but no one has been able to identify her... maybe she's connected to him in some way?" They wouldn't find anything on me, I was a teen when I _died, _disappeared off the planet according to the records.

"You sure she exists?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"You tell me." Ballard said.

"Look, I don't know who your _witness _is, but obviously they don't recognise Tony's own wife, because that's who was with us." Sam said without missing a beat. "She called us, said the police weren't letting her in and she wanted some stuff from his office. Like a picture of the two of them in Paris, and a few other things. Look, it was wrong to enter a crime scene, but she had a key, showed us in herself. Then Dean took her home after we'd picked up the things she wanted."

Ballard didn't look convinced.

"So why didn't you go with them?" Ballard asked.

"I just went back to the motel." He paused, looking at her. "How'd you know I was there, by the way?"

"We found the motel match book on your brother when we arrested him. Let's quit fooling around. Now you were with your brother the whole time you were in Baltimore. Why separate now? Because your brother left you. To murder Karen." Ballard said. I shook my head at their outlandish ideas.

"He didn't kill anyone," Sam said.

"I heard the 911 call! Karen was terrified! She said someone was in the house." I frowned, this was news to me, of course, she'd already been dead by the time Dean and I arrived, maybe she'd been able to call the police before she was attacked, it would explain why they had arrived almost as soon as we had.

Sam fell silent and Detective Ballard got up and left with a sigh.

"Jeffrey, I think it's high time we had some time with _our client _don't you?" I said, loud enough for the officer with us to overhear.

Kraus nodded emphatically, "Yes, yes, it is. Highly irregular this is. I'm afraid," he said, stepping up to Ballard as she rounded the corner, "I'm going to have to insist that we are allowed to speak with our client now." She looked from Kraus to me, and then sighed.

"He's all yours," she said with a wave of her hand before walking away.

Sam's eyes also widened when he saw me, and then he sat back with an amused smile on his face.

"Mr. Winchester, we've just been in with your brother," I said, and Sam nodded passively at me.

"He had this note for you," Kraus said, handing Sam the note that he'd taken off me as soon as we'd left Dean's interview room.

Sam glanced at the note, and then at me. I'd read it already, it said:

_HILTS - _

_IT'S A __STREET  
__ASHLAND._

_-MCQUEEN_

It was code, and a message to us that we had were to escape and figure out what was going on while he delayed the police.

"I hope that's meaningful. But I'd like to discuss your case now." Kraus said to Sam.

Sam gestured to a chair. "Sure thing, Matlock," he said with a smirk.

"You two really are brothers, aren't you?" Kraus said in response to the comment. "Now. As you know, the DA might be interested in..."

There was a knock at the door, followed by Ballard coming back into the room. She looked at Kraus.

"We need you. With the other one," she said. I feigned surprise, but I had been expecting it, Dean would need to come up with some kind of a rouse to get everyone clear of Sam's interview room.

I went back into the room with Kraus, noting with interest that there was a bit of a crowd gathering at the observation window. There was a technician setting up a camera in front of Dean who was slumped in his chair, still cuffed, and looking quiet and reserved. His eyes met mine briefly as I entered the room, a little bit of a twinkle behind them, I refrained from smiling, wondering where he was going with all this.

A Detective Sheridan was in the room with us now, the same detective that Kraus had been talking with earlier.

"Counsellor? Your boy decided to confess," he said, looking at Kraus, and then me, with interest.

"Mr Winchester? I'd advise against that strongly." Kraus said leaning in to Dean. His advice was ignored as Dean leaned forward with a smirk.

"Talk directly into the camera, first stating you name for the record," Sheridan directed him, it seemed to me that he was pretty eager to get this on camera, almost too eager.

Dean grinned at me and pursed his lips in a kiss. "How you doing hot stuff?" He asked, and I rolled my eyes feigning shock at his behaviour. He turned to face the camera.

"My name is Dean Winchester." He said into the camera, and then smiled. "I'm an Aquarius. I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women." He glanced at me when he said that, and I looked down, hiding my amusement. "And I did not kill anyone. But I know who did. Or rather what did. Of course it can't be for sure, because our investigation was interrupted. But our working theory was that we're looking for some kind of vengeful spirit."

"Excuse me?" Ballard asked, incredulous. I had to keep from laughing.

"You know, Casper the bloodthirsty ghost?" Dean asked in all sincerity.

"Tony Giles saw it. I'll bet you cash money Karen did too. But see, the interesting thing is the word it leaves behind. For some reason it's trying to tell us something. But communicating across the vale, it ain't easy. You know, sometimes the spirits, they, they get things jumbled. You remember "REDRUM". Same concept. You know, it's, uh, maybe word fragments... other times, it's anagrams." He looked around, pulling his notes from earlier out of his pocket, holding the anagrams up to the camera.

"See, at first we thought this was a name, Dana Shulps. But now we think it's a street. Ashland. Whatever's going on, I'll bet you it started there." He spread his hands and smiled.

Sheridan looked furious. "You arrogant bastard. Tony and Karen were good people, and you're making jokes!"

"I'm not joking, Ponch," Dean said, looking at him with his serious gaze.

"You murdered them in cold blood just like that girl in St. Louis." Sheridan accused, moving up close to Dean.

"Oh, yeah. That wasn't me either." Dean said into the camera with a smile. "That was a shape-shifter creature that only looked like me." He glanced over at me when he said this and I repressed a shudder. That had been a horrid, horrid creature and I still got nightmares over it.

Sheridan lost his temper, hauling Dean up by his collar and slamming his against the wall.

"Pete, that is enough!" Ballard said and I found myself moving toward Dean instinctively.

"Detective, I have to warn you against assaulting our client," I said to Sheridan and he looked over at me, as if seeing me for the first time.

"You asked for the truth," Dean smirked at Sheridan.

Sheridan turned back to look at Dean, fury in his eyes. "Lock his ass up," he said. Another policeman took over, shoving Dean face first against the wall, handcuffing him. Dean rolled his eyes at me as this happened and I sighed, shaking my head. What on earth were we into here?

For the second time that day I saw Dean hauled away and I paused. Kraus was looking confused at what had just happened. I made my excuses, saying I needed to use the bathroom, and I slipped outside. Sam would be long gone, and it was time to meet up with him and get to the bottom of what was going on here. I retrieved my duffel bag from the bushes where I'd left it and headed for the street, hailing a cab. I sure hoped Dean knew what he was doing in there.

* * *

_**Aardvark Motel**_

I looked up the first motel listed in the yellow pages, it was _The Aardvark Motel,_ jumping back in the cab, I instructed him to drop me off there. At the desk I found there was already a booking for Jim Rockford. Sam had made it here before me. I got the room number and headed over. Sam opened the door as soon as I knocked.

"Hey," he said with a smile, letting me in. "You took your time."

I walked in, shrugging out of my jacket with a sigh and kicking off my shoes.

"Yeah, I was busy listening to Dean give a heart felt confession to liking long walks on the beach and frisky women," I said with a raised eyebrow. Sam laughed.

"Is he ok?" Sam asked.

I nodded. "For now, although that Detective Sheridan has a hard-on for pinning this whole thing on him, he practically assaulted Dean in the interview." Sam grimaced.

"We have to get to the bottom of this and quick, before things escalate, I don't like that he's in there," I told Sam, and he nodded, quick to agree.

I groaned, the night's events starting to get to me, I was sore and tired.

"I'm going to grab a shower, what are you working on?" I asked Sam.

He looked over at the files he had spread across the table. "I'm trying to find out if there's a connection to Ashland Street and any missing or murdered girls with slashed throats." I nodded, walking toward the bathroom.

"I'll give you a hand when I'm out," I said, and closed the door behind me, getting undressed as I ran the hot water, I was going to enjoy this shower.

Fifteen minutes later I was starting to feel human again. I got out, dried off, tying the towel around my torso and putting my hair up in another towel. I opened the door to the main motel room and found myself looking directly at Detective Ballard.

She looked shocked when she recognised me, and then her eyes narrowed.

"You sure have a very... close...relationship with your clients, Ms Andrews." Ballard said slowly.

I smirked. "I think we kind of know I'm not a lawyer now, don't we?" I asked, and Sam smiled, watching us both.

"You're the girl? The one I was looking for?" I nodded slowly and went to my duffel and pulled out some underwear, jeans and a t-shirt. With a glance over at Sam, I grinned and dropped the towel. He was already looking away, shaking his head, expecting the move.

I pulled on my undies and bra, and then stepped into my jeans, all the while Ballard stared at me. Finally I shrugged into one of Dean's t-shirts, it was baggy on me but I didn't care, it smelled like him, and that's all that I wanted right now. When I was dressed, I turned my attention to my hair, rubbing it with the towel on my head, drying it off.

"Why are you here? Clearly Dean sent you," I said, looking at Ballard. She frowned and then held out her wrists. They had bruises around them, I frowned, recognising them from Karen's dead body.

"You've seen the spirit?" I asked, and she nodded. "These showed up after you saw it?"

Again, she nodded. "Yeah, I guess," she said. Sam stood up and came over to look at the wrists.

"All right. You're going to have to tell us exactly what you saw," he said to her.

Ballard sighed. "You know, I must be losing my mind. You're a fugitive," she said looking at Sam, then glancing at me. "I don't know who you are, but I think I should be arresting you both."

"All right. Well, you know what? You can arrest us later, all right? After you live through this." I said to her, brushing my hair back into a ponytail. "But right now you've got to talk to us, OK?" She nodded silently to me.

"OK, great," Sam said smiling. "Now, this spirit. What did it look like?"

Ballard stopped, thinking. "She was, um, really pale, and her throat was cut. Her eyes, they were like, this deep dark red? It appeared like she was trying to talk to me. But she couldn't. It was just...a lot of blood." She was shaking her head, and she sat down on the end of the bed, looking at Sam.

Sam looked at me and I shrugged. "You know what?" Sam said, "Here. I've been researching every girl that's ever died or gone missing from Ashland Street." He went over to the table, gathering up a stack of crime scene photos.

Ballard frowned, following him to the table and looking at the photos. "How did you get those? Those are from crime scenes, and booking photos."

Sam shrugged. "You have your job, I have mine. Here. I need you to look through these, tell me if you recognise anyone."

Ballard sat down on a chair and flipped through the stack. When she came to the third photo of a woman, she stopped.

"This is her. I'm sure of it," Ballard said, looking up at us.

I looked down at the photo and read the booking slate. "Claire Becker?" I asked Sam. He nodded and went to more of his research.

"Twenty-eight years old, disappeared about eight or nine months ago," Sam confirmed.

"But I don't even know her. I mean, why would she come after me?" Ballard asked, looking at us both.

"Well, before her death, she was arrested twice," Sam said, reading the paperwork. "For dealing heroin. You ever work narcotics?"

"Yeah, Pete and I did. Before homicide," she answered.

"Did you ever bust her?" I asked, starting to pace the room, thinking.

"Not that I remember," Ballard said.

"It says that she was last seen entering 2911 Ashland Street. Police searched the place, didn't find anything. Guess we gotta check it out ourselves. See if we can find her body." Sam said.

"What?" Ballard asked, surprised.

"Well, we have to salt and burn her bones. It's the only way to put her spirit to rest." I answered her, stopping my pacing and standing with my arms crossed.

"Of course it is," Ballard said with a sigh, looking like she couldn't believe the world she suddenly found herself in.

* * *

_**2911 Ashland Street**_

We were standing outside a dark and creepy looking warehouse. Sam led the way to a door way and let us in.

"So what exactly are we looking for?" Ballard asked, glancing around the area we were in.

"I'll let you know when we find it," I said vaguely, shining my flashlight around. Sam separated, heading up a flight of stairs. Ballard went one way on the ground floor, and I went another. It was dark and slow going, and I really didn't like the idea of running into a ghost, I patted the handgun loaded with rock salt ammo and wedged into my waist band under Dean's t-shirt to reassure myself that I was covered in case I did.

Suddenly Ballard called out for us, and I doubled back, coming to her quickly. Sam was running down the stairs, meeting me as we came to Ballard.

"What is it?" I asked, looking around.

"Claire..." Ballard said, pointing at a window.

"Where?" Sam asked, spinning around to check our perimeter.

"She, she was here," Ballard said.

"Did she attack you?" I asked, glancing at Sam and rested my hand against the gun at my back.

"No. No, she was just like, reaching out to me. She was over there by the window." Ballard said, again pointing ahead of us. The window was blocked by a shelving unit. She led us across the room.

"Hey wait, help me move this," Ballard said, looking at Sam. He moved and gave the shelves a good shove, they squealed in protest as they dragged across the floor. A window was revealed behind it, an orange light from the setting sun washing through to us. They read ASHLAND SUP... the rest of the word, supplies, was faded and worn.

"Our little mystery word," Ballard said, looking back at us. The words in the window cast a clear reflection against the wall behind us.

"Well that explains the extra letters," I said, looking at Sam who nodded.

Sam pulled out an EMF reader and went over to the wall where the writing was reflected.

"What is that?" Ballard asked, following along.

"Spirit and certain remains give off electromagnetic frequencies," Sam explained holding the EMF reader out in front of him.

"So if Claire's body was here, that would indicate that?" Ballard asked.

I looked at her. "Yeah. Well that's the theory," I said. Sam had reached the wall and was holding the EMF close to it. The EMF started to spike, static causing a whirring sound, there was something there. I looked around, finding a sledgehammer and grabbed it. He nodded and took it from me, handing me the EMF reader.

With a few swings, Sam had broken through the brick wall, knocking out a sizeable hole. He took his flash-light and poked it inside, looking at where the light was shining.

He pulled back, nodding at me. "Yeah. Yeah there's definitely something in there." I took the sledgehammer and started to knock at the bricks around the opening while Sam pulled at them, making a bigger hole.

"You know, this is bothering me," Sam said, looking over at me. I paused, sending him a questioning look.

"Well you are digging up a corpse," Ballard pointed out, and we both turned to look at her.

"No, not that," Sam said. "That's, uh, that's pretty par for the course, actually." He said with a chuckle.

"Then what?" Ballard asked, as I took another swing at the wall.

"It's just, I mean, no vengeful spirit I've ever tussled with wanted to be wasted, so why the hell would Claire lead us to her remains? It doesn't make any sense." Sam said and I thought about this, nodding. We'd broken open most of the wall. He looked at me and grimaced.

"All right, here. Give me a hand," he said and I nodded. There was a black sack inside the wall and Sam pulled on it. I gripped it and helped lift it out of the hole in the wall. It was definitely a body.

Sam pulled out his pocket knife and cut the ropes holding the shroud together, uncovering Claire Becker's body. The corpse was leathery and decayed, she had obviously been dead for some time. It still had long blonde hair attached to the head, and it's hands were bound in front of her chest. Ballard held out her bruised wrists, looking at them and then the ropes.

"Her wrists." Sam said, nodding. "Yeah, they'd be bruised just like yours."

Ballard reached forward and touched a necklace around the body's neck. I frowned, curious.

"Does that necklace mean something to you?" I asked, she looked up at me.

"I've seen it before." She answered, dropping it back on the body. Sam picked it up to get a closer look. It's rare." Ballard declared. "It was custom made over on Carson Street."

She reached up to her neck and pulled out a pendant that had been under her shirt. "I have one just like it," she said, frowning. "Pete gave it to me."

"Now this all makes perfect sense," Sam said, glancing up at me.

"I'm sorry?" Ballard asked, looking at him.

"Yeah. You see, Claire is not a vengeful spirit, she's a death omen." I said, walking around the body.

"Excuse me?" Ballard asked, standing up.

"Claire's not killing anyone," I said. "She's trying to warn them. You see, sometimes spirits, they don't want vengeance, they want justice. Which is why she led us here in the first place. She wants us to know who her killed is."

Sam nodded standing up and looking at Ballard. "Detective, how much do you know about your partner?" He asked.

Ballard paused to think, her mouth hanging open just a little. "Oh my god," she said quietly, looking shocked.

"What?" I prompted, not liking the sound of those three little words.

"About a year ago, some heroin went missing from lock-up. Obviously it was a cop. We never found out who did it. But whoever did it would need someone to fence their product." Ballard said.

"Someone like a heroin dealer. Somebody like Claire," Sam said and Ballard nodded.

* * *

_**Ballard's Car**_

Ballard was on her cellphone to the police precinct as she drove. Sam was in the front with her, I had taken the back seat. I really just wanted Dean out of that cell, now, I wasn't enjoying being separated at all.

"All right. Thanks." Ballard said into the phone, hanging up.

"What is it?" Sam asked, looking over at her.

Ballard looked grim. "Pete just left the precinct. With Dean," she said. I looked up at that.

"What?!" I said, leaning forward, looking at Sam with a worried glance.

"He said the prisoner had to be transferred, and he just took him. Dispatch has been calling but he won't answer the radio," Ballard said.

"Radio? He took a county vehicle?" Sam asked and I shook my head and chuckled.

"Yeah," Ballard confirmed.

"Well then they should have a lo-jack," I said. "You've just got to turn it on."

Within minutes the lo-jack had been activated and Ballard floored the car toward it's location, they weren't far ahead of us, Pete hadn't really left the area. We were driving down a deserted back road outside of town. When we got closer, we exited the vehicle and crept into the woods surrounding us.

My eyes adjusted to the dark and I saw a van ahead of us in a clearing. Sheridan had Dean on the ground, a gun pointed at him.

"Wait! Wait. Let's, let's talk about this. I mean, you don't want to do something that you're gonna regret." I heard Dean say, Sheridan cocked his gun and Dean looked a little panicked. "Or maybe you do."

"Pete!" Ballard called out, stepping out of the trees with her own gun raised. "Put the gun down." Pete spun and pointed the gun at her. Sam was standing nearby with his hands raised in the air, I had chosen not to reveal myself, not yet.

"Diana? How'd you find me?" He asked, turning his gun back to point at Dean.

"I know about Claire." Ballard said, still pointing the gun at him. Sheridan glanced at her, unsure of what she'd just said. He decided to play it cool.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sheridan said.

"Put the gun down!" Ballard ordered him. He smirked.

"Oh, I don't think so. You're fast. I'm pretty sure I'm faster." Sheridan said, looking down at Dean. I swallowed hard, thinking about my options.

"Why are you doing this?" Ballard asked, a hurt look coming into her eyes.

"I didn't do anything, Diana," Sheridan said, denying his actions.

"It's a little late for that," Ballard said.

Sheridan shook his head at her. "It wasn't my fault. Claire was trying to turn me in, I had no choice."

"And Tony? Karen?" Ballard asked.

"Same thing!" Sheridan said angrily. "Tony scrubbed the money, he got skittish, and then he wanted to come clean. I'm sure he told Karen everything."

Dean glanced at Sam, who was looking about for me, but not seeing me as I inched my way along the treeline closer to Sheridan. Dean shook his head at Sam, and our younger brother grit his teeth.

"It was a mess; I had to clean it up. I just panicked," Sheridan said, his voice starting to break as he confessed his actions.

"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?" Ballard asked.

"There's a way out." Sheridan said, his eyes begging Ballard to join him. "This Dean kid's a friggin' gift. We could pin the whole thing on him. Right? No trial, nothing. Just, just tone more dead scumbag."

"Hey!" Dean protested at that name, he took particular offense to names like scumbag. Sheridan raised his gun a Dean again, starting to look serious.

"No one will question it. Diana, please. I still love you," he said to her, and she lowered her gun, giving in. I frowned and pulled the gun from the small of my back, I reached into my pocket for the regular ammo I'd shoved in my jeans while loading the gun with rock salt earlier, and I fumbled to get the gun open to put the real ammo back in it now.

"Thank you. Thank you." Sheridan said, turning back to Dean. I looked up, starting to panic, when I heard another gunshot. Ballard had fired her weapon, hitting Sheridan in the stomach. He fell to the ground and Dean rolled out of the way, hands still cuffed in front of him.

Sheridan rolled on the ground, grunting from the wound. Ballard walked up to him and glared. "Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass?" She said. He growled and tackled her legs, forcing her to the ground with a yell, the gun flew from her hands and Sam tried to move for it but Sheridan got there first.

"Don't do it! Don't do it!" Sheridan said to Sam, who stopped short, hands in the air. Sheridan struggled to his feet and turned the gun back on Dean who was still on the ground nearby, hands in the air. Sheridan seemed to change his mind and swung the gun back around to Ballard.

Ballard was staring at something behind him, and he panicked, spinning around to see what it was. Instantly I acted, clicking the regular ammo into my gun and stepping out into the clearing. I didn't hesitate and I fired at him, aiming between his shoulders in the back. He went down, and I knew deep down, he wasn't getting back up.

Dean looked up at me shocked and struggled to his feet. Ballard was looking at me, out of breath and I nodded at her, dropping the gun to my side before clicking on the safety and tucking it back into my waistband. I looked over at Dean and felt all kinds of emotions wash over me. I stepped up and grabbed him in a hug, kissing him softly.

"Are you ok?" I asked, looking him over. He nodded. I used a pick to open his cuffs, much to the surprise of Ballard who was watched us, getting to her feet.

"Well, you're just full of surprises," she commented and I smiled as Dean wrapped his arms around me, holding me close.

Sam came up to Ballard, smiling over at us. "Are you doing all right?" He asked her and she looked back at her partner, dead on the ground.

"Not really. The death omen, Claire. What happens to her now?" Ballard asked.

"Should be over. She should be at rest." Sam said, and she nodded.

Dean cleared his throat, still holding me, I had my arms wrapped around him tight, my head resting on his chest.

"So, uh. What now, officer?" He asked, looking over at her.

"Pete did confess to me," Ballard said, all business again, her face not showing any trace of grief over the loss of her ex-lover. "He screwed up both your cases royally. I'd say that there's a good chance that we could get your cases dismissed."

We looked at her, and Sam smiled.

"You'd take care of that for us?" Sam asked.

She nodded. "I hope so. But the St. Louis charges? That's another story." I looked at Dean, worried. "I can't help you," Ballard continued. "Unless...I just happened to turn my back, and you walked away. I could just tell them that the suspects escaped."

I smiled, but Sam looked concerned. "Wait, are you sure?"

"Yeah, she's sure Sam," Dean said, nodding. It wasn't Sam's ass on the line with the St. Louis charges.

"No, it's just, I mean, you could lose your job over something like that." Sam said. Dean shook his head, amused at Sam's concern.

Ballard looked at all three of us and took a breath. "Look, I just want you guys out there doing what you do best. Trust me, I'll sleep better at night."

She turned to go, and then looked back at us. "Listen, you need to watch your back. They're gonna be looking for both of you boys right now. Get out of here. I gotta radio this in."

"Hey, uh... you wouldn't happen to know where my car is, by chance?" Dean asked, and I looked up at him shaking my head. Some things never changed.

"It's at the impound yard down on Robertson." Ballard said. Dean got a calculating look in his eyes and I rolled my eyes. Ballard took this in.

"Don't...even...think about it," she said to us.

"It's ok, it's all right, don't worry. We'll uh, we'll just improvise." Sam said quickly and I grinned.

"We're pretty good at that," I said, looking at her.

"Yeah, I've noticed." Ballard said with a smirk.

I looked at Dean, and he grabbed my hand pulling me along down the road with him, sliding up next to me.

"Kind of hard to christen a backseat, without the car... we're gonna have to improvise our way into that impound lot..." he said with a grin and I chuckled.

Sam was walking beside us and shook his head, rolling his eyes, having only caught the last part of that conversation. It looked like we had one more job to do before leaving Baltimore, and the sooner it was done, the faster we could get back to our lives, even if Dean and Sam had just made one of the most wanted lists. We'd just have to face it like we did everything else, one day at a time, together.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter: _Long Day _by Matchbox 20

It doesn't quite fit, so if anyone has any better suggestions, I'm all ears :)

* * *

Gah, it's good to be back! I've missed writing these guys while I've been away – it was a long long weekend with not nearly enough alcohol or internet access to get me through (haha) And a four-hour drive home turned into a 6-hour ride from hell with a neurotic mother and whining baby who managed to slice open his finger on lord knows what just 45 minutes from home (really must get a first aid kit to carry with me) and then get home to more drama with the ex! Fun times :D It's been good to disappear into SPN for the last few hours and write this. Hope you enjoyed it!

* * *

Next up: Demons at the crossroads!

* * *

Thanks to everyone who PM'ed or reviewed over the weekend – loved getting your messages and reading them. They got me through the family holiday LOL (My mum thinks I've got some new fella in my life because I kept sneaking off to access and read stories and reviews – which always puts a smile on my face)

* * *

I did manage to get a couple of stories updated / edited from _Highway to Hell _I've noted the updates in the chapter titles, some have a few small changes, but mostly it's just formatting, spelling, grammar, and fixing some continuity issues.

* * *

OK. Better get to bed, stayed up late to get this out, and have first day of work in 7 hours LOL See you on the flip side!

* * *

Oh and welcome to all the new readers :D Great to have you here, please let me know what you think of the story so far!


	9. Crossroad Blues

_And the heart is hard to translate__  
__It has a language of its own__  
__It talks in tongues and quiet sighs,__  
__And prayers and proclamations__  
__In the grand days of great men and the smallest of gestures__  
__And short shallow gasps  
__And I would give all this and heaven too__  
__I would give it all if only for a moment__  
__That I could just understand the meaning of the word you see_

* * *

**CROSSROAD BLUES**

* * *

Sam and I sat in front of the laptop staring at the screen, a frown graced each of our faces. I glanced up at Sam and he shook his head, then looked across the table at Dean. He was watching us with a raised eyebrow. A waitress came over and placed our food in front of us, juggling the limited space due to the laptop with the practised ease of someone who had been doing this job for a long time. I looked over at Dean again, biting my lower lip.

"What?!" Dean said, finally, exasperated by our constant looks.

I glanced down at the laptop screen again, there was a mugshot of Dean staring back at me. I sighed.

"So much for our low profile. You've got a warrant in St. Louis, and now you're officially in the Fed's database." I said to him, still chewing on my lip.

Dean grinned at us."Dude, I'm like Dillinger or something," he quipped.

"Dean, it's not funny. It makes the job harder, we've got to be more careful now." Sam said, frowning.

"Well, what do they got on you?" Dean asked, taking a sip of his coke.

Sam tapped away at the laptop, looking a little annoyed."I'm sure they just haven't posted it yet..." He muttered with a frown. I chuckled and patted him sympathetically on the arm, climbing out from the booth so that I could slide around to Dean's side, sidling up to him.

"No accessory? Nothing?" Dean pressed Sam with an amused look.

"Shut up," Sam said. Dean laughed and stuffed a fry into his mouth.

"You're jealous!" Dean said around his chewing.

"No I'm not!" Sam denied, shaking his head.

"Uh-huh," Dean chuckled, stuffing a few more fries into his mouth.

"Well I am!" I said with a short laugh, putting my head on Dean's shoulder for sympathy. "No one has the faintest idea who I am, it's like I never even existed." I sighed.

"There's a reason for that sugarpie," Dean said, kissing the top of my head. "Keeps you safe." I snorted.

"I'd rather be Bonnie and Clyde with you and recognised once in a while, than Casper the Ghost. You know that Detective still hasn't got the faintest idea who I am?" I said with a sigh.

Dean shook his head and chuckled, sliding his arm around my shoulder. "Well, not much we can do about it, can't go back ten years and un-fake your death gorgeous," he said, looking down at me. I nudged his nose with my own and leaned in to him.

"Yeah, I guess..." I said regretfully. I thought about my father, and his burial plot, he'd actually been cremated, hunter style, but just like Mary, there was a gravestone, and I'd taken his ashes there shortly after it had been erected. My name was also on the stone, as John and Dean had faked a death certificate and other assorted reports that said I'd been killed in the same home invasion that had killed my father. Dead at fifteen, that was my legacy.

"Hey, you ok?" Dean asked, watching as I battled some of these conflicting thoughts in my head. I thought about the answer to that, not giving a response right away. Sam was glancing over at me, a worried look on his face. Dean didn't look worried, just caring.

"Hmmm?" Dean prompted me, and I felt my mouth twitch a little sadly.

"Yeah... just thinking about stuff." I said quietly.

"You know we could get you some fake ID with your real name if it'd help, just for a while?" Dean said, looking down at me. I shook my head, it wasn't that so much as the accumulation of choices I'd had to make over the last decade. Most of the time I didn't regret what I'd chosen, but sometimes there was a little niggling doubt, the fear that maybe I'd leave this world never having really made a difference.

"No it's ok," I said with a smile, kissing him lightly on the lips."I'm just being melancholy, thinking about my dad." Dean gently traced a finger along my cheek and down my jawline, thinking about what I'd said. Eventually he nodded, not saying anything further, but he didn't have to, I knew I could get him alone and talk any time I wanted.

"So..." I said, turning to Sam who was listening, but pretending not to."What have you got for us, you innocent, harmless young man?" Sam gave me a slightly annoyed look for joining Dean in the teasing, and shut the computer. He reached into a folder and pulled out several pages of research.

Sam started reading from the pages quickly going over the details.

"Architect Sean Boyden plummeted to his death from the roof of his home, a condominium he designed," Sam said.

"Hmm. Build a high-rise and jump off the top of it. That's classy. When did he call animal control?" Dean asked, referring to our earlier conversation where Sam had been looking up reports of black dogs in the area.

"Two days earlier," Sam replied, reading the report.

"Did he actually say Black Dog?" I asked, sitting up a little and stealing some of Dean's fries, grimacing at my salad, why had I ordered that?

"Yeah. A vicious, wild, black dog. The authorities couldn't find it, no one else saw it; in fact, the authorities are a little confused as to how a wild dog could get past the doorman, take the elevator up and start roaming the halls of the cushiest joint in town. After that, no more calls, he doesn't show up for work, two days later he takes a swan dive."

"You think we're dealing with an actual Black Dog?" Dean asked, frowning.

"Well, maybe," Sam said with a shrug.

"What's the lore on it?" Dean asked, looking at me. I had been reading up on them earlier this morning when we first heard about the report.

"It's all pretty vague." I said, sliding some of the print outs I had taken earlier from the library computer over to him."There are spectral black dogs all over the world, but... some say they're animal spirits, others say death omens. Whatever they are, they're big, and they're nasty." I said.

"Yeah," Dean said, looking at a photo of a picture of a huge black dog."I bet they could hump the crap outta your leg," he said to Sam with a grin."Look at that one, huh?"

Sam glared at him and Dean's smirk fell when I elbowed him in the side. "What? They could!" He insisted. I shook my head with a smirk of my own.

I rolled my eyes."Well, are we going to check this one out, or not?"

"Yep," Dean said. "Leg humping and all," he added, with a grin, sliding his hand along my thigh and giving it a little squeeze. Sam threw his hands up in the air, giving up, and left the booth, tired of the teasing. I had to admit, it was a little childish, but it had been fun.

* * *

**Private Apartment**

It seemed like we'd been in suits a lot recently for our travels, interesting that. I didn't mind, the boys made for a very dashing view when they scrubbed up.

"So, you and Sean Boyden were business partners for almost ten years, right?" Sam asked the man standing in the kitchen. He was tall, middle-aged, dark haired and well built, dressed in neat casual clothing.

"That's right." He said with a nod."Now one more time, this is for...?"

"A tribute to Mr. Boyden. Architectural Digest." Dean said. The man laughed to himself.

"Is this funny to you?" I asked the man, inclining my head to the side.

The man looked a little chastised. "No, it... it's just a tribute. Yeah." He was nodding to us, leaning against the kitchen island bench. "See, Sean always got the tributes. He kills himself, leaves me and his family behind...well, he gets another tribute."

"Right," Sam said. "Any idea why he'd do such a thing?"

The man shrugged, looking at us. "I, I have no clue, I mean he lived a charmed life."

"How so?" I asked, curious.

"He was a flat-out genius. I mean, I'm capable, but next to him, I...and it wasn't always that way either." He said, looking at Dean.

"No?" Dean asked.

"You wanna know the truth? There was a time when he couldn't even design a pop-up tent. Hell, ten years ago he's working as a bartender at this place called Lloyd's. A complete dive." The man said, Dean raised his eyebrow at this.

"Right. So what changed?" Sam asked.

"You got me. But overnight, he gets this huge commission, and he starts designing... he starts designing the most ingenious buildings anyone has ever seen. It was like, the level of Van Gogh, and Mozart..." His voice trailed off.

"What?" I asked, as he looked at me, a new realisation coming into his eyes.

"It's funny," He said, gesturing with his hand. "True geniuses, they seem to die young, don't they? To have that kind of talent? Why... why just throw it away?"

I exchanged a look with the boys. Why indeed?

* * *

**Animal Protection Agency**

I exited the building, spotting Sam and Dean in the Impala across the road. I waited for a couple of cars to pass, and then half-walked, half-jogged across to them, climbing into the back seat.

"So?" Dean asked, looking back at me.

"So... the secretary's name is Carly. She's twenty-three, she kayaks..." I raised an eyebrow at Dean. "...and they're real." I added with a smirk. He nodded with a grin and chuckled. I held up a piece of paper with a number on it and winked at him, he looked a little surprised."I think she kind of batted for the other team, sorry darlin'" I said to him, giving him a little kiss on the cheek. He chuckled again and shook his head, it's not like we ever acted on these things, but there was an ongoing competition about who could get the most numbers per month. Currently the record stood for this year stood at eighteen, and I held it.

"You didn't happen to ask her if she's seen any black dogs lately, did you?" Sam asked, interrupting us and bringing us back to the job at hand.

I handed him a page. "Every complaint called in this week about anything big, black, or dog-like. There's nineteen calls in all." I said.

Dean was looking at something under the number, he frowned. "I don't know what this thing is," He said, looking at me.

Sam took the note and read it, laughing.

"You mean Carly's MySpace address?" He asked and I grinned.

"Yeah, MySpace, what the hell is that?" Dean asked, looking back at me when Sam just laughed at him again."Seriously, is that like some sort of porn site?"

I grinned and kissed him, shaking my head."You don't want to know Dean."

I had taken one glance at MySpace ages ago and never been back – it was a social nightmare. Hard to have _friends _when you're too busy moving on and leaving them behind, there was no point. Sam had a page, of course, for keeping in touch with all his college friends, but for Dean and I? There was simply no point, we kind of made up the extent of our circle of friends, and we pretty much liked it that way too.

* * *

**Dr. Pearlman's House**

It was the ninth house we'd been to and Dean was starting to get a little testy. Sam knocked on the door of yet another white suburban house and waited for someone to answer. Dean shifted uncomfortably in his suit jacket, his irritation starting to show.

"I swear, if this is another freakin' Pomeranian barking in the neighbour's yard..." He said, his voice trailing off as the door was answered by a young woman.

"Afternoon, ma'am," Dean said, pulling out his ID. "Uh, animal control."

"Oh, someone already came yesterday," the woman said, looking confused.

"We're just following up. We're looking for a Doctor Sylvia Pearlman?" Sam said.

The woman asked us into the house, showing us into the kitchen where she'd been preparing a meal. We all stood around an island bench that was covered in fresh vegetables, it looked as if the woman was getting ready to cut them all up to put into a large pot on the stove.

"The Doctor, well, she, I don't know exactly when she'll be back, she left two days ago," the woman said, looking at us all, she looked a little uncomfortable, like she didn't like having strangers in the house.

"Ok. And you are...?" Sam asked, turning on his puppy-dog eyes.

"I'm Ms Pearlman's maid," the woman said with a smile.

"So where did the Doctor go?" I asked, looking around the neatly kept house.

"I'm not sure. She just packed and went, she didn't say where," the woman answered. She frowned and looked at Sam."That stray dog, did you find it finally?"

"Oh, not yet. You know, you didn't ever happen to see the dog yourself, did you?" Sam asked.

"Well, no. I never even heard it," She answered. I frowned, that seemed a little odd, your boss claims she is being followed by a wild, stray dog and you don't even hear it?

Dean had wandered over to a pin board full of photos. He took one of the photos off the board and walked back to show me, it pictured the Doctor at a bar with two friends.

"I was almost starting to think the Doctor was imagining things, but she's not like that, so..." the maid's voice trailed off and Dean looked up at her.

"Hey, you know I read she was, uh, chief surgeon at the hospital. She's gotta be what, forty-two, forty-three? That's pretty young for that job." Dean said with a smile.

The maid smiled back at him proudly."Youngest in the history of the place. She got the position... ten years ago?"

"Huh," Dean said thoughtfully, looking at me.

"Huh, an overnight success," I said, frowning."Ten years ago."

"Yeah we know a guy like that. Oh, look at this," Dean said, holding up the back of the photo to me."Lloyd's Bar." His eyes were suddenly very serious and we all quietly contemplated the previous visit to Sean Boyden's work partner. He'd mentioned that bar before too.

* * *

**Lloyd's Bar**

Lloyd's Bar was a tiny little weatherboard one-room shack on the corner of a crossroad. It reminded me of the Roadhouse a little, only it was much smaller. There were a couple of cars parked out the front of it, and a variety of shrubbery grew around the bar. I noticed some yellow flowers growing by the side of the road and stopped to take a closer look. They framed all four corners of the crossroad, they definitely weren't growing there wild.

"That's weird," I said, stopping in the middle of the road.

"What?" Dean asked, looking over at me.

"Think someone planted these?" I asked, gesturing to the yellow flowers.

"In the middle of all these weeds?" Sam asked, looking doubtful.

"These are... uh... what do you call them?" Dean asked, searching for the word.

"Yarrow." I said, frowning.

"Yeah. Used for certain rituals, aren't they?" Dean commented, coming up and laying his hand at the small of my back.

"Yeah. Summoning rituals," I said with a frown, stepping into his touch.

"So two people become sudden successes about ten years ago. Right around the time they were hanging out here at Lloyd's." Dean said, looking over at Sam.

"Where there just happens to be a crossroads," Sam said, nodding. "You think?"

Dean sighed. "Let's find out." He pulled away from me and I felt a little stab of panic in my stomach. I wasn't really coping this last week with the job. With anything. I felt sick all the time again, and it was just starting to get on top of me. We'd had a little bit of a break since our run in with the law in Baltimore, to let the trail die down. Maybe I was just getting soft, back on the first case in just under a month.

Dean grabbed a shovel out of the car and walked to the centre of the crossroads, spinning in a circle, looking around. "This seem about the dead centre to you?" He asked. I paused and calculated, nodding when I agreed with him. He crouched down and started digging into the hard soil. After a few inches, he stopped, hitting something. He stopped and looked up at Sam and I, we closed in to where he was.

"Yahtzee," Dean said with a smile. He dropped the shovel and dug with his hands, pulling out an old rusted box from the earth. He opened it and we found several small bones and a small jar, among other things.

Sam pulled the jar out of the box, looking at it with interest. "I'd be willing to bet that's graveyard dirt. And a black cat bone," he said, nodding to the bones.

"That's serious spellwork. I mean, that's Deep South Hoodoo stuff." Dean said, looking at me, a small amount of worry behind his eyes."Used to summon a demon," he finished.

I bit my lip, looking at the pair of them. I'd been doing my fair share of demon study lately, ever since we'd come across Meg.

"Not just summon one. Crossroads are where pacts are made. These people are actually making deals with the thing," I said, looking around, almost expecting to see a demon waiting for us. I forced back that idea with a shudder.

"Yeah, because that always ends good," Dean muttered, shaking his head.

"They're seeing dogs all right. But not Black Dogs, they're seeing Hellhounds. Demonic pit bulls," Sam said.

"Yeah, and whoever this demon is, it's back and it's collecting. And that doctor lady? Wherever she's running? She ain't running fast enough." Dean said, his brow furrowing into a frown.

"So it's just like the Robert Johnson legend, right? I mean, selling your soul at the crossroads, kind of deal?" Sam asked, looking at us.

"Yeah, except that wasn't a legend. I mean, you know his music..." Dean said to Sam. Sam shrugged at us and I gaped.

"You don't know Robert Johnson's songs?" I asked. "There's occult references all over his lyrics, I mean, _Crossroad Blues? Me And The Devil Blues? Hellhound On My Trail?" _Sam just looked at us with a blank face. Dean rolled his eyes at me and I smirked, we were so different to our little brother, it just wasn't funny sometimes.

"Anyway, the story goes, he died choking on his own blood, he was hallucinating, and muttering about big evil dogs," Dean said and I nodded.

"And now it's happening all over again," Sam pointed out. Dean leaned into me, his hand on my waist, glancing down.

"Yeah," he said quietly. I looked at him, curious about what had caused the chance in his demeanour.

Sam was pacing in front of us. "We've gotta figure out if anyone else struck any bargains around here."

Dean tensed and frowned at me. "Great. So we've gotta clean up these peoples' mess for them? I mean, they're not exactly squeaky clean. Nobody put a gun to their head and forced them to play _Let's Make A Deal." _I sighed, he was right, in a way.

"So what, we should just leave them to die?" Sam asked.

"Somebody goes over Niagara in a barrel, you gonna jump in and try to save them?" Dean asked, and I shrugged.

"He does have a point," I said to Sam who looked at me surprised.

"Come on, guys," Sam said, frowning.

We looked at him and then exchanged another look. Dean's eyes told me he clearly thought that we were crazy if we took this one on. I raised my eyebrow a little at him to let him know I agreed, but it was a resigned look.

"All right," Dean sighed. "Fine." He looked back at Sam. "Rituals like this, you've got to put your own photo into the mix, right? So this guy probably summoned this thing, let's go and see if anyone inside knows him. _If he's still alive_." I nodded, and pulled away to lead the way into the bar, I could already feel it was going to be a long, long day – and there was a niggling undercurrent of nausea in my stomach, knowing I was in such close proximity to a demon summoning area.

* * *

**Apartment Building**

The apartment was on the fourth floor, we were winding our way up the stairs trudging along slowly.

"What's this guy's name again?" Sam asked.

"George Darrow," I said. "Apparently quite the regular at Lloyd's."

Dean looked around, the apartment building was hardly high end. "This house probably ain't up next on MTV Cribs, is it?" He asked and I nodded. Whatever deal George Darrow had done with a demon, it clearly hadn't been for money. Sam was obviously thinking along the same lines.

"Obviously whatever deal he made wasn't for cash," Sam said, looking around as we walked.

Dean grinned at me. "Who knows, maybe this place is full of babes in Princess Leia bikinis," he winked at me and I laughed. Halloween had just passed a week earlier and I'd completely forgotten about the promise I'd made to find a Princess Leia bikini to wear a few months back.

I raised an eyebrow at Dean and he chuckled. "Thought I forgot, didn't you?" He asked and I shook my head with a smile.

"No, I'm just saying, this guy's got one epic bill come due. Hope at least he asked for something fun," Dean added, coming to a stop in front of the doorway that was Darrow's apartment.

I looked down, and then squatted in front of the door, spotting something I hadn't seen before.

"Look at this," I said, fingering a fine black powder that was scattered along the line of the door.

"What is that, pepper?" Dean asked. I shrugged, staring at the powder.

"I'm not sure... maybe..." I said. The door in front of me swung open, startling me and I stood up quickly, backing up into Dean's chest.

There was a middle-aged man with greying hair in front of me, wearing a grimy t-shirt and an open cardigan.

"Who the hell are you?" He snapped, looking at us with a frown.

"George Darrow?" Dean asked, his hands on my shoulders.

"I'm not buying anything," George said and started to close the door.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, looks like you went for the wrong shaker there," Dean said, circling around me and pointing at the black powder. "Usually when you want to keep something evil out you go for the salt."

The man regarded Dean with a steely gaze. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"Talking about this," Dean said, holding up the small picture of Darrow that we'd found in the box buried at the crossroads. "Tell me. You seen that Hellhound yet?"

"Please," Sam said, stepping forward. "We want to help. Just five minutes?" Darrow considered the three of us and then showed us into the studio apartment. It was spacious, dusty and dark. Light filtered in through the shaded windows in dusty rays. There were paintings everywhere, on the walls, on easels, leaning against the walls. He was an artist.

Darrow went over to a table and poured himself a glass of whiskey. There were all sorts of painting supplies scattered across the table, but he ignored them.

"So what is that stuff out front?" I asked, wandering over to look at a painting that was half finished.

"Goofer dust," Darrow said to me. I looked at him blankly. I'd never heard of it. The boys shrugged too, neither had they, obviously.

"What, you kids think you know somethin' about somethin' but not Goofer dust?" Darrow asked, taking a sip of whiskey with one hand, and tossing a brown sack at Dean with the other. He caught it with ease, looking it over.

"Well, we know a little about a lot of things. Just enough to make us dangerous." Dean said carefully.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Hoodoo. My grandma taught me. Keeps out demons." Darrow said. I shuddered.

"Demons we know." I said quietly, looking around, feeling nauseas.

"Well, then. Keep it. Maybe it'll do you some good," he said, walking over to a chair and putting his drink down on the table next to it. "Four minutes left," he said to Sam, reminding us that we only had five minutes of his time that he'd agreed to.

Sam took the lead. "Mr. Darrow. We know you're in trouble," he said.

"Yeah, what you got yourself into," Dean said with a nod.

"But it's not helpless, all right?" Sam said, glancing over at Dean with a half-glare. "There's gotta be something we can do."

Darrow looked at Dean and Sam, standing next to each other a few feet away from him.

"Listen. I get that you boys want to help," he said, taking a seat and looking back at us. "But sometimes a person makes their bed, they've just got to lie down in it. I'm the one called that demon in the first place," he said, looking resigned to his fate.

I frowned, I'd heard a speech like this before. I looked over at Dean, staring, thinking about what could have been had John not made his own deal with a demon. I bit my lip, Darrow seemed as cool, calm and collected about his fate as John had, he'd made his peace with it. I wish I could say the same for me. I still had nightmares over it.

"What'd you do it for?" Dean asked, curious.

"I was weak. I mean, who don't want to be great? Who don't want their life to mean something? I just...I just never thought about the price," he admitted, taking another sip of his whiskey.

"Was it worth it?" I asked, walking over to look at him. He looked at up me as if I was crazy.

"Hell no!" He said with a smirk. "'Course, I asked for talent. Shoulda gone for fame. I'm still broke, and lonely. Just now I got this pile of paintings don't nobody want." He gestured to his paintings. "But that wasn't the worst."

"Go on," Sam urged quietly.

"Demon didn't leave. I never counted on that. After our deal was done, the damn thing stayed at Lloyd's for a week. Just chattin'. Makin' more deals. I tried to warn folks, but, I mean who's going to listen to an old drunk?" He said.

I frowned, looking over at the boys. "How many others are there?" I asked, turning back to Darrow.

"Uh, the architect, that doctor lady – I kept up with them, they've been in the papers. Least they got famous." Darrow said, taking another drink.

"Who else, George? Come on, think." I said, maybe a little forcefully because Sam and Dean both glanced over at me, a little curious.

"One more," Darrow said, looking up at us. "Uh, nice guy too. Hudson... Evan, I think. I don't know what he asked for. Don't matter now. We done for."

"No. No, there's gotta be a way," Sam argued, always the optimist.

"You don't get it!" Darrow said angrily. "I don't want a way!"

Sam frowned. "Look, you don't..."

"I called that thing!" Darrow said loudly, standing up from his chair. "I brought it on myself. I brought it on _them. _I'm going to Hell, one way or another." He said, there was a resolution in his eyes, he was ready. "All I want is to finish my last painting. Day or two, I'm done. I'm just trying to hold them off 'til then. Buy a little time." He looked over at the unfinished painting, a sadness in his eyes. "OK, time you went, go help somebody that wants help."

Sam shook his head, stubborn until the end. I nodded at Darrow, I'd heard this speech before, there was no point in arguing.

"We can't just..." Sam was trying to argue again.

"Get out!" Darrow said, waving us out. "I got work to do."

"You don't really want to die," Sam said quietly. I bit my lip, thinking about John.

"I don't?" Darrow asked, shaking his head. "I'm... I'm tired." He looked it too. Dean frowned and came over to me, slipping an arm around my waist, looking at me thoughtfully. There was something in my eyes obviously that he didn't like, I didn't want to talk about it, but something told me I wasn't going to get a say in it when I looked at Dean's eyes.

* * *

**Local Bar**

Dean left Sam at the front of the bar to look into Evan Hudson's current whereabouts. He took my arm, pulling me out to a back room and leading us to a booth in the corner. It was secluded and quiet at this time of day, no one was around. He put a couple of glasses of bourbon in front of me, sliding in next to me and looking sternly at me.

"Spill," he said and I looked down at the bourbon, spinning the glass in my hands. "Something's on your mind, now talk."

I sighed, trying to think of just where to start with this conversation, trying to decide if I was even going to have it.

"I don't know Dean, it's just everything. It feels like we are just spinning our wheels sometimes, stuck in the mud," I said quietly, his eyes softened and he put a hand on my arm.

"Go on," he prompted me, watching.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, I shrugged, words failing me.

"Does this have to do with that whole thing you said earlier? Do you regret coming with us when your dad died?" He asked, frowning.

I looked up sharply, shaking my head. "No, no I would never... Dean, that's not it." He looked a little relieved.

"Although, sometimes I wonder just what we're doing, why we are fighting all the time for everyone else. We've been so selfless for most of our lives, at what point will we be allowed to be selfish? It seems like we just get a whole lot of pain and not much more, and what difference is it really making? What kind of legacy are we going to leave behind? One that no one will even remember?" I said, taking a long swallow of my bourbon, grimacing as it stung my throat.

"We save lives Beth, that's plenty enough for me," Dean said, looking at me. "Used to be for you too."

I nodded, thinking. "Maybe it's not enough any more though. I mean, look at us... you're wanted in like half a dozen states for murders and other things. We live our lives on the run, constantly, and that isn't going to change in the near future, maybe never."

"You want it to?" He asked quietly, squeezing my hand.

"I don't know! I don't know what I want Dean." I said, leaning my chin on my free hand, elbow on the table. "But we've lost Dad, and no one will ever know of the good things he did for the world, the people he saved, his memory is carried on in us alone, and then when we're gone, who will remember him?" Tears came to my eyes. "Who will remember the good that he did for complete strangers? What he did for us?"

Dean frowned, and scooted around a little closer, slipping his arm around my shoulders, pressing his lips to my forehead, resting against me.

"It doesn't matter who remembers, it only matters that he did it," Dean said. "This is the price we pay for the life we lead. It's a thankless job."

"Yeah, but at what point is the price too high?" I asked, looking down at my hands.

Dean paused, looking down at me, clearly thinking about something. I continued to spin the glass in my hands, anxious, not really wanting a drink.

"This demon deal thing," he said finally. "It sure seems to have you on edge."

I nodded, I couldn't deny it, he knew me too well.

"You didn't even try to argue with Darrow," Dean pointed out and I sighed softly.

"I've heard that speech before Dean, there was no getting him to see otherwise." I leaned against him, feeling his warmth seep into my ice cold body.

"Dad?" He asked. I nodded silently and he sighed.

"I knew that you knew more than you were letting on," he said quietly.

"I didn't want to upset you," I said, starting to panic a little, thinking about the last time I'd kept a secret from Dean about John. He'd hit the roof and made me promise never to do it again, and yet here I was, still keeping secrets.

Dean nodded quietly. "It's ok," he said. "I mean, I know he did something, made some sort of deal. He had to have." He leaned back a little, turning my head toward him, brushing his hand along my hairline, fingers sliding through my hair a little.

"You should have told me sooner," he said quietly, looking at me with hazel eyes filled with concern.

"I wanted to," I whispered, biting my lip. "I didn't want you to blame yourself."

"Instead you've been doing that yourself," he said knowingly. "You said you should have stopped him, when we were in Greenville." I nodded silently.

"You can't stop Dad from doing anything once he puts his mind to it, you know that." Dean said with a sigh, kissing me on the nose. I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears that were building there, taking a shaky breath.

"I know," I said. "But it doesn't mean I don't blame myself for not trying."

Dean thought about this and then nodded, taking a sip out of his own drink.

"Well... what's done is done. We can't change it now, and Dad made his bed," he said resolutely. I looked at him, thinking about the different things Dean had been saying all day, about how it wasn't our place to rescue these people who made their deals, that no one had forced them to sell their souls. He was right, but it didn't make it any easier. He'd clearly been giving this a lot of thought.

"You seem remarkably calm about all this," I said quietly, pointing out his uncharacteristic quiet.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it," he said. "You know, during the times when _you weren't talking about it." _He raised his eyebrow at me with a smirk. I smiled at him. "You're not exactly a good poker player, I know when you're bothered about something," he added.

"Then when you said you felt guilty for being happy that I lived, and Dad didn't..." He paused to look at me gently. "Well, it kind of started to make sense...you knew he made a deal?"

I nodded again, not trusting my voice to speak.

"You couldn't have done anything about it," Dean said, looking sad. "Dad made his choice."

"You're still strangely calm about all this," I said finally, watching him.

He sighed. "You think I haven't thought about the same things? How if I wasn't here Dad would be? He wouldn't want me to wallow in self-pity when he made that kind of a sacrifice." He looked at me, there was a resignation in his eyes, a sadness that underlined what he was saying.

"Yeah, it's killing me, thinking about it..." he continued, "and I want to get this son of a bitch as soon as we can figure out how, but until then, I'm not wasting another minute Beth, I'm not wasting this time I have with you." I stared at him, I'd never heard him talk like this, it was so...different. Something must have showed in my eyes because he laughed, looking at me softly.

"Do you know how many _years _with you I wasted? All because I was too scared to stand up to Dad? Too busy letting him tell me how to live my life?" He asked.

I nodded sadly, it had been a long time.

"He's given me back a life, it's a gift, he's given me back you." He kissed me again, this time it was longer, deeper. He slid a hand up into my hair, tilting my head to angle it so he could lean into me, holding my chin with his other hand. It was breathtaking when he kissed me like this. I moaned and surrendered to the moment, closing my eyes and reaching up with my own hand to lay it against his cheek, feeling the smooth skin from his fresh shave.

I smiled happy tears at him when he pulled away finally.

"Tell me you love me," I whispered, he grinned at me.

"As you wish," he said, leaning his forehead against mine and quoting one of my favourite lines from a childhood movie.

I shoved him playfully and giggled. "Silly!" He smiled and pulled me in close again, our noses bumping against each other as his lips played across mine, a whisper of breath trailed over my cheek.

"I do," he said more seriously, before claiming my lips again, softly, lovingly, breathing into me as I yielded to the strength of him, feeling myself surrender to all the love I felt for him.

"Ahem!" Sam's voice suddenly sounded next to us and we broke apart slowly, Dean scowling at his brother.

"Oh this better be good Sammy," he said threateningly, but in a joking manner.

"Evan Hudson, lives about an hour from here," Sam said, pulling up a chair and looking at us. "We going, or do you two have more... important... things to discuss?" He said with a smirk.

* * *

**Evan Hudson's House**

It was getting dark as we arrived at Evan's house, we exited the car and wandered up the stairs. It was a simple home, clearly not the home of a rich and successful man who had won his riches through a demonic deal. I found myself wondering just what it was that Evan had sold his soul for.

Sam knocked at the door and a moment later it was opened by a middle-aged man, grey hair and beard, soft, kind brown eyes. He looked flustered, like he was in a hurry.

"Yes?" He asked, looking at us.

"Evan Hudson?" Sam asked, looking at the man.

"Yeah," he confirmed, nodding.

"You ever been to a bar called Lloyd's? Would have been about ten years ago," Dean asked outright.

Evan looked terrified at the question and then slammed the door in our faces, we heard the lock tumble into place from the other side. Sam scowled at Dean, rolling his eyes.

"Come on! We're not demons!" Dean shouted at the shut door.

"Any other bright ideas?" Sam asked Dean, a touch of frustration in his voice.

Dean looked over at me and then stepped back, looking at the door. He kicked out with his boot toward the door with a grunt, connecting with it near the handle. It swung open, broken from the sheer force of the kick. We entered, looking around. There were the sounds of Evan running deeper into the house and we followed.

We came to a double-door and Dean prepared to kick in that door as well. I put a staying hand on his arm, shaking my head. I reached out with a pointed look at them and turned the handle on the door. It was unlocked. I opened the door and pushed it open gently, the room was deathly quiet.

"Evan?" I asked, peering around the door as I entered.

Evan jumped out from behind a bookshelf, looking terrified. "Please! Don't hurt me!"

I held out my hands to him, showing him that I was unarmed. "We're not going to hurt you all right? We're here to help you." I said to him, and he stopped to look at me.

"We know all about the genius deal you made," Dean said, stepping in from behind me.

"What? How?" Evan asked, looking at us confused.

"Doesn't matter. All that matters is, we're trying to stop it," Sam said, adding in his thoughts.

"How do I know you're not lying?" Evan asked, and I conceded that it was a fair question.

"Well, you don't, but you don't have a lot of options right now Evan," I said, stepping closer to him.

Evan paused, running a hand across his mouth, starting to pace in front of us.

"Can you stop it?" He asked urgently.

"Don't know. We'll try." Sam answered.

"I don't want to die," Evan said, fear showing in his eyes.

"Of course you don't, not now." Dean said, all trace of that softness from earlier having vanished, he was back to thinking people were idiots for making deals like this.

"Dean," I said softly, looking at him. "Stop."

"What'd you ask for anyway, Evan?" Dean asked, ignoring me. "Huh? Never need Viagra? Bowl a perfect game? What?" I frowned at Dean and shook my head, he could be so infuriating sometimes.

"My wife," Evan said quietly, looking at him.

Dean laughed, shaking his head. "Right. Gettin' the girl. Well, that's worth a trip to Hell for."

"Dean!" I said crossly, frowning at him.

"No. He's right, I made the deal. Nobody twisted my arm, that... woman, or whatever she was, at the bar? She said I could have anything I wanted. I thought she was nuts at first, but...I don't know how to... I was desperate," he said, explaining his reasoning to us.

"Desperate?" Sam asked, confused.

"Julie was dying," he said with a nod.

"You did it to save her?" Dean asked, surprised.

"She had cancer, they'd stopped treatment, they were moving her into hospice, they kept saying...a matter of days. So yeah, I made the deal. And I'd do it again. I'd have died for her on the spot." Evan said, I closed my eyes and shook my head. Love. It sure made us do some stupid things.

"Did you ever think about her in all this?" Dean asked, suddenly his tone changed.

"I did this for her," Evan said, frowning.

Dean stepped forward and looked at him. "You sure about that? I think you did it for yourself. So you wouldn't have to live without her. But guess what? She's going to have to live without you now. But what if she knew how much it cost? What if she knew it cost your soul? How do you think she'd feel?" This was the other side I hadn't heard from Dean, and it seemed to be overspilling now. I was suddenly very conflicted by what he'd said earlier, and what was coming out of his mouth now.

Sam put a hand on Dean's chest, stepping in between him and Evan. "OK. That's enough," Sam said to his brother, turning to look at Evan. "You just sit tight, all right? We're going to figure this out."

He gave Dean a bit of a shove back toward the hall, and I took Dean's arm, leading him out of the room, Sam following.

"You all right?" I asked Dean once we were out of earshot.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" He asked, back to aloof Dean. I frowned.

He looked up at Sam. "Hey, I got an idea," he said, pulling the goofer dust out of his jacket. "You throw George's hoodoo at that Hellhound, keep it away from Evan as long as you can. I'm gonna go to the crossroads and summon the demon."

"What?!" I exclaimed, looking at him like he was mad.

"Summon – are you nuts?" Sam asked, mirroring my thoughts.

"Maybe a little. But I can trap it. I can exorcise it, and I can buy us some time to figure out something more permanent." Dean said. I frowned, maybe that would work.

"Yeah, but how much time?" Sam asked, dubious.

"I don't know, a while. I mean, it's not easy for those suckers to claw their way back from Hell and into the sunshine." Dean said.

"No. No way." I said, shaking my head. The last thing I wanted was be anywhere near another demon.

"You got a better idea?" Dean asked, looking at me.

"Dean, forget it all right? I'm not letting you summon that demon!" I said, starting to panic.

"Why not?" Dean asked, frowning.

"Because I don't like where your head is at right now, that's why not." I said, looking at him worried.

"What are you talking about?" Dean asked.

"Well this is a far cry from what you were telling me earlier, what happened to just being grateful for being here? That you can't change the choices people make? Then you're all... how would his wife feel if she knew the real price? Dean, there's something else you aren't telling me and it's scaring me, ok?" I looked at him, fear in my eyes.

"We don't have time for this," Dean said, starting to walk past me. Sam stopped him with a single word.

"Dad," Sam said. Dean stopped in his tracks and turned to look at him. "You think maybe Dad made one of these deals, huh? Hell, I've been thinking it. I'm sure you've both been thinking it too."

"He did make a deal, Sam. My life for his soul. I know it. We all know it. He just made this deal without any thought for how it would make me feel, what it would mean." Dean said quietly.

Sam looked confused, but there was no time to explain, Evan's voice cried out from inside the office. "I think I hear it! It's outside!"

"Just... keep him alive, ok?" Dean said, starting to walk back toward the front door.

"Dean!" Sam called out.

"Go!" Dean yelled back at him, going around the corner. I hesitated and then ran after Dean. He looked at me as I came around the corner, I scowled at him.

"If you think you're doing this without me, you got another thing coming Dean." I said, pushing past him. He stopped to look at me and then chuckled as we walked down the stairs together.

"Nope, I want you right there with me, like you should be," he said with a smile. I paused. "We do this together, or not at all," he said. He was just a mass body of confusion to me right now. I shrugged, giving up on trying to understand him and got in the car.

* * *

**Crossroads at Lloyd's Bar**

I watched as Dean placed his photo in the box of George's Hoodoo magic.

"I don't like this Dean," I said, for the third time in the last twenty minutes.

"It's the only way to save Evan," he said to me, pausing to look into my eyes. "You know what you have to do?" I nodded, but my head was screaming at me.

"You sure you're up to this? You haven't seen a demon in a while... what about your...?" He looked at my stomach and touched my face gently.

I swallowed. "I'll be fine, I can control it," I said, talking about the nausea and dizziness I felt whenever a demon was around me – one of the side-effects of having been a meatsuit to one of them in the past.

He nodded, his eyes full of trust. "OK. Be careful," he said, kissing me quickly.

"You too," I said and then I turned to walk away into the trees nearby. I waited there while Dean buried the box. No sooner had he covered the box over with dirt than a woman appeared behind him, dressed in a sexy black dress, her long black hair spilling over her shoulders.

"So. What brings a guy like you to a place like this?" She asked. Dean looked at her appraisingly. "You called me?" She added.

"I'm just glad it worked," Dean said with a smile, looking her over.

"First time?" She asked, looking at him flirtatiously.

"You could say that," Dean said.

"Oh, come on now. Don't sell yourself short. I know all about you, Dean Winchester." She said, her eyes flashing red.

Dean stood a little straighter, taking in a breath. "So, you know who I am."

"I get the newsletter," she kidded with a smile.

"Well don't keep me in suspense. What have you heard?" Dean asked.

"Well," she said, walking up to him, staring into his eyes. "I heard you were handsome. But you're just edible," she said with a smile, looking at him with a hunger - I paused to wonder whether or not she was being literal with the edible comment. "What can I do for you Dean?" She asked after a few moments.

Dean looked up, casting a gaze around the perimeter. "Maybe we should do this in my car. Nice and private," he said, leaning in to her.

"Sounds good to me," she said with a smile. They turned to stroll over to the Impala which was parked a short distance away.

I bit my lip, thinking about the plan and hoping that it just played out the way it was supposed to, just for once in our lives.

"So," Dean said, as they walked toward the car. "I was hoping we could make a deal."

"That's what I do," she said to him, raising an eyebrow.

"I want Evan Hudson released from his contract." Dean said daringly, looking at her.

She smirked. "Hmm. So sorry darling. That's not negotiable."

"I'll make it worth your while." Dean offered as they reached the Impala.

"Oh really? What are you offering?" She asked, curious.

"Me." Dean said deadpan, looking at her in all seriousness.

"Well, well, well. You'd sacrifice your life for someone else's," she said, looking him over. "Like father, like son."

Dean looked at her warily, and I was glad we'd had that earlier conversation about the deal John had struck with the yellow-eyed demon. Still, it was a little different hearing it from a demon's mouth, I just hoped he held it together.

"You did know about your dad's deal, right? His life for yours? Oh I didn't make the deal myself, but...boy, I wish I had," she said shaking her head in appreciation.

Dean grit his teeth, not responding to the taunt. He opened the passenger side door on the Impala, gesturing to the demon.

"After you," he said.

"Such a gentleman," she smiled, starting to step into the car. She looked down and paused, seeing the edge of the symbol we'd drawn extending from the car. She reared back, turning to face him with her eyes glaring.

"A devil's trap? You've got to be kidding me!" She said angrily. I stood up, swallowing hard. Dammit.

"You stupid, stupid... I should rip you limb from limb," she said slamming the car door shut.

"Take your best shot," Dean dared her. She started to move in on him, but then thought better of it.

"No, I don't think so. I'm not going to put you out of your misery," she said.

"Yeah? Why not?" Dean asked, glaring at her.

"Because your misery's the whole point. It's too much fun to watch. Knowing how your daddy died for you, how he sold his soul. I mean, that's gotta hurt – no matter who you surround yourself with, no matter how much love anyone shows you." She stalked toward Dean who was retreating, now backed up against the wooden post of the water tower nearby.

"It's all you ever think about. You wake up and your first thought is, "I can't do this any more." You're all lit up with pain," the demon said, getting up in his face, simpering at him. "I mean, you loved him _so much. _And it's all your fault." Dean recoiled, looking away. She smirked and looked up at him.

"You blew it Dean! I could have given you what you need," she said.

"What do I need?" Dean asked, swallowing hard and looking at her. I bit my lip, standing up and moving closer to them, I didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Your father," the demon said to Dean. "I could have brought him back. Your loss." She started to walk away. "Seeya Dean. I wish you a nice long life." Dean watched her, starting to step forward when I made my move.

"Wait." I said to her, stepping out of the trees. She spun to look at me with a smile on her face. Dean looked at me, bewildered. I ignored him.

"Beth... how nice of you to join us, I knew you wouldn't be too far away," the demon said to me, her eyes flashing red again.

I fought down the nausea and stepped toward her, walking through the legs of the water tower to cross over to her.

"Beth..." Dean growled at me warningly, but I shook my head. The demon looked amused, glancing from him to me.

"Can you bring him back? Our dad?" I asked her, and Dean threw me a wild look.

"Of course I can. Just as he was," the demon said, starting to walk back to me. "John would live a long and natural life, like he was meant to. That's a promise."

"What about me?" I said, looking at her, offering me as the deal.

"I could give you ten years. Ten long good years with him, and Dean. That's a lifetime. The family can be together again. John, Dean, Sammy and you. The Winchesters, all reunited." I hesitated, but I didn't refuse. Dean walked around to my side, grabbing my arm, his eyes flashing angry.

"Stop this, don't you do this." I shook him off, looking back at the demon.

"Look," the demon said. "Your dad's supposed to be alive. You could have given yourself over for Dean, but you didn't. So we're just setting things right," she said, and I stared into her eyes. "Putting things in their natural order. And you get ten extra years with your beloved Dean on top. That's a bonus."

She was very close to me, I thought it over, hesitating and Dean grabbed my arm pulling me away from her.

"Beth, what is she talking about?" Dean asked, turning me to face him. I looked from him to the demon, swallowing, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

The demon watched us, curious, and then started to walk toward us again.

"You know, this over protective thing you have going on for each other is..." She stopped short, a realisation reaching her eyes. She looked up, at the same time I did and saw the devil's trap drawn beneath the water tank she was now standing under.

"Beth!" She said warningly.

"Now you're really trapped. That's got to hurt," I said with a smirk, turning to smile at Dean who was grinning. The plan had worked like a charm.

"Let me out. Now." Red eyes flashed at us threateningly.

"Sure. We just gotta make a little deal here first," Dean said. "You call off your Hellhounds and let Evan go. Then I'll let you go."

"I can't break a binding contract," she said, glaring at him.

"Hmmm. And by 'can't' you mean 'don't want to'?" Dean said with an amused look.

"Last chance," I said to her. "Evan and his wife get to live to a ripe old age." She just glared at me.

"Going... going..." Dean taunted.

"Let's talk about this," the demon tried to bargain.

Dean rolled his eyes, looking at me. "OK, gone!" He said with a nod and I pulled out John's journal, flipping to the exorcism page.

* * *

I was holding my rosary in my hand, looking at the journal.

"What are you doing?" The demon asked, watching me.

"Oh, you're just gonna go on a little trip," Dean said. "Way down South."

"Forget Evan," the demon said, looking at me. "Think of your dad."

I looked back at Dean, but he shook his head, indicating that I should begin. I hesitated, wondering if we could get more out of this deal.

"Beth," Dean said. "We don't make deals with devils." I sighed and nodded.

"Regna terrae, cantate deo..." I started the exorcism, seeing the panic rise into her eyes. I kept reading the Latin before me, in my peripheral vision I saw her start to flinch and convulse as the exorcism started to take hold.

Dean paced, watching her, and I was starting to think it wouldn't work.

"...in potentis Magnife!" I said.

"Wait!" The demon called out and I paused.

Dean looked at me and I shrugged. "Do we have a deal?" I asked.

The demon reached out suddenly and grabbed Dean, pulling him in for a passionate kiss. I gaped, but before I could do anything she broke it off, Dean stepped back a little stunned and blinked.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked, looking over at me.

"Sealing the deal," she said with a smile.

"I usually like to be warned before I'm violated with demon tongue," Dean said, deadpan. She chuckled in response, looking over at me.

"Evan Hudson is free. He and his wife will live long lives," she said.

"How do we know you're not lying?" Dean asked.

"My word is my bond," she said simply.

"Oh, really?" Dean said, raising his eyebrow.

"It is when I make a deal. It's the rules. You got what you wanted. Now let me go." She said, looking between the two of us.

I hesitated, fingering the rosary, all kinds of anger coming up within me. I looked down at the unfinished exorcism, contemplating. The look didn't go unnoticed on her.

"You're gonna double-cross me? Funny how I'm the trustworthy one." I shrugged.

"Well you did just kiss my boyfriend... right... in … front of me." I said, raising an eyebrow.

The demon smirked back at me. "You know, you renege? Send me to Hell? Sooner or later I'm gonna climb out, and skinning Evan Hudson is gonna be the first thing that I do," she threatened.

I thought about it, then put the rosary around my neck, closing the journal with a slight inclination of my head. Dean smiled and climbed up the leg of the tower, breaking the protective circle above her head. She stepped out, a sour look on her face.

"I gotta tell you. You would have never pulled that stunt if you knew," she said.

"Knew what?" I asked, frowning

"Where your dad is," she said, turning to face us. Dean had climbed back down and moved to stand next to me. "You should have made that deal. See, people talk about Hell, but it's just a word. It doesn't even come close to describing the real thing."

"Shut your mouth, bitch." Dean said angrily.

"If you could see your poor daddy? Hear the sounds he makes 'cause he can't even scream?" I swallowed hard, wondering if she was telling the truth, fearing that she was.

Dean advanced on her. "How about I send you back there?" He threatened. Her head threw back and suddenly black smoke poured out of her mouth as she screamed. Dean pulled me back against the tower, and we watched as the demon vacated it's host.

The girl it had been possessing slumped to the ground, alive and unharmed, confused.

"What... how did I get here?" She asked, looking up at us. Dean exchanged a look with me that shared my horror at what we'd just heard. We'd failed again, maybe we could have saved John from that torment, and yet, all we'd managed to do was secure the freedom of a complete stranger, our family still in tatters.

"I should have made the deal," I said, stepping back from the woman.

"What? No!" Dean said, frowning and grabbing me by the arms. "No, that's what it wants you to think. It's trying to torment you Beth, this wasn't negotiable, you know that."

I looked at him, tears in my eyes.

"What does it matter Dean? Which one of us is suffering? We all suffer. Better it were me that were in that hell hole than Dad." I cried, thumping my fists against his chest.

"Why would you say that?" He asked, confused.

"Because I deserve it Dean! I killed my own father, I watched our dad die and I did nothing to stop it. I could have given up my own soul to save you but I didn't." He frowned, shaking me a little bit to get me to see sense.

"Beth, you haven't done anything wrong, this wasn't your fault," he said.

"I wasn't strong enough, _I'm not strong enough_. I should have stopped it, each time I wasn't strong enough to do it, what good am I to any of you?" I rambled.

"Stop it, just stop it right now!" Dean said, looking at me and then pulling me into a tight hug.

"We're here, what's done is done Beth. At the end of the day I wouldn't do it over, I couldn't. I won't see you do this to yourself. Dad made his deal, it's done. You have to let it go." I sobbed into his chest, letting all the pain and guilt flow out of me. I knew he was right but I didn't want to let it go, I couldn't. It hurt so much.

* * *

**Impala**

Sam was struggling with the news that we'd told him.

"How could he do it?" Sam asked, tears in his eyes as he leaned forward from the back seat.

"He did it for Dean," I said, looking over at his brother who was staring out the window, still struggling a little with having to break the news to Sam.

Sam shook his head. "You know, the thought of him... wherever he is right now. I mean, he spent his whole life chasing that... yellow-eyed bastard. He should have gone out fighting. That was supposed to be his legacy. You know? Not bargaining with the damn thing."

I frowned, this was a different tone from Sam. "How many people do you think Dad saved? Total?" I asked him.

"That's not the point Beth," Sam said, looking at me.

"Yes it is! Evan Hudson is safe because of what Dad taught us. That's his legacy Sam. It's the legacy we'll carry on for him, we have to. We have to keep going, for him." I said this for Sam as much as for myself and Dean too.

Sam shook his head. "Dean?"

Dean looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"You agree with Beth?" He asked, watching his brother.

"Yeah, yeah I do Sam, he's given me a life, I should make the most of it, he would want that." Dean said, repeating what he'd said to me in the bar earlier.

I sighed, looking out the window.

"Beth...when you trapped that demon, when you offered yourself... I mean, it was a trick right? You never considered actually making that deal, right?" Sam asked. "It's what you guys had planned all along?"

I looked at Sam, the worry in his eyes was so obvious. I tried to smile, but couldn't quite get it out. Turning to stare out the window, I said nothing.

"Of course she didn't," Dean said for me, glancing over. "It was just an act Sam."

His look told me he wasn't so convinced of his argument, that perhaps if I'd been alone I might have given in and done the deal, but I hadn't, all because he'd been there with me – I had a moment to think maybe that's why he'd wanted me there too, so he wouldn't go through with it either.

He reached over and squeezed my hand, holding it between us. I smiled at him, tired, and tried to show him that I was all right. But I wasn't, not really. There was a big emptiness starting to eat away at me, and I wasn't sure just where it was going to stop. All I knew was that it eased when I was with Dean, and Sam, and so we had to stick together, as a family, and get each other through this, it was the only way forward.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for the chapter is: _All This And Heaven Too _by Florence and the Machine (I freaking LOVE this song!)

* * *

Big thanks to EarthhAngel for her proof reading and storyline suggestions, and just being an all round fun person to talk with :D I added some more stuff to it after you were done, so if there's any mistakes, they're mine! :D

* * *

OK What's next? Ooooh _Croatoan_! Nasty nasty stuff :D Should hopefully be up within a few days – then I'm away overnight in the city so another short break. It's looking like updates might go to the every couple of days at this point. Sorry, that pesky thing called a real life is encroaching!

* * *

Welcome to all the new followers – please leave me a review and let me know what you think!

* * *

Oh and finally, a bit of a shout-out to one of my favourite movies growing up - _The Princess Bride _with that line where Dean tells her he loves her. Did you catch it?


	10. Croatoan

_So clever,__**  
**__Whatever,__**  
**__I'm done with these endeavours.__**  
**__Alone I walk the winding way.__**  
**__(Here I stay)__**  
**__It's over,__**  
**__No longer,__**  
**__I feel it growing stronger.__**  
**__I'll live to die another day,__**  
**__Until I fade away._

_Why give up, why give in?__**  
**__It's not enough, it never is.__**  
**__So I will go on until the end.__**  
**__We've become desolate.__**  
**__It's not enough, it never is.__**  
**__But I will go on until the end._

* * *

**CROATOAN**

* * *

It had been a week. Just seven days since the crossroads demon and things were starting to get back to normal. We were camped out in a motel taking it easy for a while. Dean and I had walked down the road to the local liquor store to grab a six pack and some snacks. It was dark, a little chilly out, and the perfect weather for cuddling. I slipped my arm around Dean's waist, under his jacket, smiling.

The demonic induced nausea had passed, thankfully, now I was just hungry – all the time. I'd been eating my way through a cow the last few days – burgers, steaks, milkshakes, now I was on to the beef jerky. I snatched a piece out of the open bag that Dean had in his hand, munching away happily.

"Hey slow down there applepie or you're gonna end up with heart burn," Dean said with a laugh and I grinned at him.

"I'm so hungry! I don't know what's gotten into me. Maybe I have an iron deficiency," I said thoughtfully, still walking with my arm around his waist. Dean frowned, looking down at me. I shrugged, grabbing another piece of jerky out of the bag, it was soft and tender just how I liked it.

We walked in silence for a little longer until Dean spoke, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Well, maybe we should get you checked out by a doctor," he said. I raised my eyebrow at him.

"It's just a couple of cravings Dean, I'm not sick, I hardly think it calls for a doctor," I said, looking ahead of us to the motel.

"Just being cautious, that's all. Maybe you have a parasite," he said with a grin, and I laughed.

"Uh huh, a parasite eh?" I said, shaking my head.

"Yeah, you know..." He stopped me and turned to face me. "...the kind that take 9 months to mature and then wreak havoc on the rest of your life."

My eyes widened and he swallowed, looking a little anxious. "You think I'm _pregnant?" _I asked, my mouth hanging open. "Dean, I'm on the pill!"

"Yeah, and stress can throw that out, along with a lot of things. When's the last time you actually..." his voice trailed off and I thought about it, doing a rough calculation in my head. The months had kind of been jam packed and I hadn't thought about it. But it had been since before Oklahoma, and that had been... several months ago.

I frowned, looking up Dean with a sigh. "Yeah," he said. "Thought it'd been a while."

"I'm not pregnant Dean," I said with a frown. He sighed and kissed me on the forehead.

"We should check, just in case," he said quietly and I watched him silently.

He started to move toward the motel, but I suddenly couldn't move, all the possibilities running through my head. Seeing that I hadn't followed, Dean turned and came back to me.

"What is it?" He asked, looking at me concerned.

"What if I am?" I asked quietly, suddenly a little afraid.

His brow furrowed as he looked at me, and then he smiled, lifting my chin up with his free hand to brush his lips along mine.

"Then we deal," he said as he pulled away, "I should think our lives would take a bit of a 180, but that's not necessarily a bag thing..." His eyes twinkled a little and I watched him, assessing where his head was at.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, cautious. "Because we haven't actually talked about this … like ever."

Dean sighed and nodded at me, watching me as much as I was him.

"Yeah I know we haven't, but maybe we should? Maybe it's time we have that chat. Soon." I looked over at the Impala, and shook my head, this night had just gotten really, really weird.

Dean inclined his head toward the motel room, and started walking again, I followed close behind. Dean's arms were full with the beer and beef jerky, so I opened the door to the motel room when we got there, walking inside.

"Sam?" I called out, wondering where he was.

Suddenly Sam sat up from in between the two beds in the room, he'd been lying on the floor. He gasped for breath, shaking and looking around the room.

"Sam?" Dean asked, frowning and putting down the things he was carrying. We circled around to look at at him, our earlier conversation forgotten.

"Are you ok?" I asked, crouching in front of him. Sam struggled to focus on my voice, his eyes were dilated and anxious. Then suddenly he came back into his body, the vision – as I assumed it was – passing.

"No..." Sam muttered, looking at up at Dean in alarm and grabbing my hands. I held them and frowned.

"What is it?" I asked quietly, Sam just shook his head, not moving, and for the second time tonight, we waited things out for Sam.

* * *

**Impala**

Dean was driving. We'd packed up almost immediately following Sam's vision and were in the car within half an hour, heading toward Oregon. Sam had relayed a very distressing vision he'd just had where he'd witnessed Dean going into a room and shooting someone who was tied to a chair.

Sam was using the GPS navigator to direct us. I smirked a little because I was usually the map person, and I used actual maps – I still wasn't completely trusting in these new systems.

"_Continue on O-R Two-Two-Four West," _the GPS instructed us. Dean looked over at it with a frown, he didn't like them either.

"There are only two towns in the US named River Grove," Sam said, speaking of the vision he'd just had.

"How come you're so sure it's the one in Oregon?" Dean asked.

Sam paused, closing his eyes as if reliving the vision. "There was a picture. Crater Lake," he answered.

"OK, what else?" Dean asked, eyes back on the road.

"I saw a dark room, some people, and a guy tied to a chair," Sam said.

"And I ventilated him?" Dean asked, looking over at Sam with a frown. I leaned forward, wanting to participate in the conversation, I'm sure I wasn't the only one feeling uneasy about the content of Sam's vision.

"Yeah. You thought there was something inside him," Sam said with a nod.

"What, a demon? Was he possessed?" I asked, my mind throwing around ideas on why it was that Dean would shoot someone in cold blood.

"I don't know," Sam said.

"Well, all your weirdo visions are always tied to the Yellow-eyed Demon somehow... so was there any black smoke? Did we try to exorcise it?" Dean asked.

"No. Nothing, you just plugged him, that's it," Sam said anxiously.

We all frowned and fell silent, contemplating that.

"Well, I'm sure he had a good reason," I said quietly and Dean looked over at me with a smile.

"I sure hope so," Sam said quietly, not quite as supportive of Dean as we'd expected.

"What does that mean?!" Dean asked, looking at Sam in surprise. Sam didn't answer, just looked out the window for a few heartbeats.

"Dean's not going to kill an innocent man, Sam," I said with a frown, looking at our little brother. Sam raised his eyebrow at me.

"I wouldn't!" Dean said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"I never said you would!" Sam exclaimed looking over at Dean.

"Fine!" Dean said, a little angrily, but probably more hurt than anything.

"Fine! Look we don't know what it is. But whatever it is, that guy in the chair's a part of it. So let's find him, and see what's what," Sam suggested.

"Fine," Dean said with a scowl.

"Fine," Sam countered, staring at Dean.

I threw my hands up in the air and sat back in my seat. Oh this was going to be a fun drive to Oregon with these two butting heads.

* * *

**River Grove, Oregon**

We'd driven through the night, it was now early morning and we passed a large billboard advertising Crater Lake as we pulled into town, parking out the front of a shop. I looked around at the trees and mountains in the distance and smiled.

"Wow, it's pretty here, we should come to Oregon more often," I said, tapping the front seat and leaning forward.

The boys looked around at the town, their minds not so much on the view. They were looking at a man across the street, sitting out the front of an old shop, rustic and weathered. He was cleaning a rifle, chatting to people as they passed him. He wore a short sleeved shirt and old hunting vest over the top.

"He was there," Sam said, pointing at the man.

"OK, let's check it out then," Dean said, getting out of the car, Sam and I following.

We wandered across the road up to the man, he paused to look at us, giving us the once over.

"Morning," Dean said to him as we reached the store.

"Good morning. Can I help you?" The man asked us, looking curious.

"Yeah," Dean said, pulling out a badge. "Uh, Billy Gibbons. U.S. Marshal, this is Frank Beard and Dusty Hill," he pointed in turn to Sam and myself. I gaped at Dean, shaking my head, one day someone was going to catch on to his ridiculous aliases – I just hoped this guy wasn't a ZZ Top fan.

"What's this about?" The man asked, apparently oblivious to the names.

"We're looking for someone," Dean said.

"A young man, early twenties," Sam said, "He'd have a, a thin scar right below his hairline," he gestured to where he'd seen the boy's scar in his vision.

"What'd he do?" The man asked, looking warily at us.

"Well, nothing," Sam said, looking innocently at the man. "We're actually looking for someone else, but we think this young man could help us."

"Yeah, he's not in any kind of trouble or anything; well not yet," Dean said, glancing down at the tattoo on the man's arm, recognising it. "I think maybe you know who he is... Master Sergeant," he smiled when he said that, pleased with himself. "My dad was in the Corps, he was a Corporal."

"What company?" The man asked, not giving us anything to work with.

"Echo 2-1," Dean answered without missing a beat.

"So can you help us?" I asked, looking over at him from where I was standing near Sam.

The man hesitated, then nodded. "Duane Tanner's got a scar like that. But I know him. Good kid, keeps his nose clean."

"I'm sure he does," I said with a smile. "Um, do you know where he lives?"

"With his family, up Aspen Way," the man answered, nodding in the direction we should take.

We thanked him and left, heading back toward the car. Sam wasn't concentrating and bumped into a telephone pole as we crossed the road. He glanced back and stopped, staring at something. I looked back and could see a word carved into the pole, _CROATOAN. _

Dean stopped when he noticed we had both returned to the pole, and he rejoined us.

"Croatoan?" Dean asked, when he saw the word.

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. Dean looked at him blankly.

"Roanoke? Lost colony? Ring a bell?" Sam asked, looking at him. Dean continued to look blankly at him.

"Dean, did you pay any attention in history class?" I asked with a chuckle. I kind of knew the answer to that one, he'd been a bit of a player back then, more interested in chasing skirt than chasing grades.

"Yeah!" Dean said, offended. "Shots heard around the world, how bills become laws..." his voiced trailed off.

"That's not school, that's Schoolhouse Rock!" Sam said shaking his head.

"Whatever," Dean muttered with a frown.

"Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America, late 1500s?" I said, looking at Sam who nodded.

"Oh yeah, yeah I do remember that. The only thing they left behind was a single world carved in a tree. Croatoan." Dean said, I was impressed, maybe he did pay more attention to the class than the class teacher.

"Yeah. There were theories – Indian raid, disease, but nobody really knows what happened. They were all just gone. Wiped out overnight." I said, thinking back to my own history class on the subject.

"You don't think that's what's going on here?" Dean asked, looking a little alarmed.

"Whatever I saw in my head, it sure wasn't good. But what do you think could do that?" Sam asked, looking at us both.

"Well, I mean, like I said, all of your weirdo visions are always tied to the Yellow-eyed Demon somehow, so..." Dean shrugged, voice trailing off.

"We should get help," I said, suddenly feeling sick to my stomach. "Bobby, uh, Ellen maybe?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Dean said, nodding and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He flipped it open and frowned, starting to wave it around, holding it in the air. "I don't have a signal," he said, looking at me.

Sam and I pulled out our phones, doing the same.

"I don't either," Sam said, glancing at me. I shook my head negative, I didn't either.

Dean took a breath and frowned, looking over at a pay phone and walking up to it. He picked up the handset, clicking the receiver a few times and listening.

"Line's dead," he said, hanging up. He turned to look at us, concern in his eyes. "I'll tell you one thing. If I was gonna massacre a town, that'd be my first step." I looked at him, my mouth twitching into a worried look as I gnawed at my bottom lip. _Just once,_ I thought, _just once I'd like to go somewhere nice and not have someone try to kill us._

* * *

**Tanner House**

We decided to pay a visit to the Tanner household on Aspen Way. Their house was a neat little cabin-style home with a large spacious lawn and native trees planted strategically around. It was something that I would have liked, if I were feeling domestically inclined.

Dean lead the way up the steps to the house and grinned, pointing at the little plaque on the wall near the door. It read _Born to fish, forced to work. _I smiled, story of our life. Sam rapped on the door and we waited for an answer. The door was answered by a teenage boy with spiky dark brown hair, the typical smart-ass look on his face that most teens have.

"Yeah?" He said, looking us over.

Dean flashed his badge at the boy. "Hi, we're looking for Duane Tanner, he lives here, right?"

"Yeah, he's my brother," the boy said, nodding.

"Can we talk to him?" Dean asked.

"Oh, he's not here right now," the kid said, his eyebrow cocked slightly up.

"Do you know where he is?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he went on a fishing trip up by Roslyn Lake," the boy said, friendly, yet seeming a little too friendly.

"Are your parents' home?" Sam asked.

The boy smiled at us. "Yeah, they're inside," he said with a nod.

A middle-aged man came to the door, stepping into view. "Jake? Who is it?"

Dean flashed his badge again as Mr Tanner looked out the door at us. "Hi, U.S. Marshals, sir, we're looking for your son Duane."

"Wh-why? He's not in trouble, is he?" Mr Tanner asked, looking concerned.

"No, no, no, no. We just need to ask him a couple of routine questions, that's all." Dean said smiling.

"When's he due back from his fishing trip?" I asked from where I was leaning against one of the porch posts.

"I'm not sure," Mr Tanner said, glancing over at me with a bit of hesitation as if he was thinking about whether or not his son had told him this information.

"Well, maybe your wife knows?" I asked, stepping over to the door.

"Oh, I don't know, she's not here right now," Mr Tanner answered, appearing flustered and looking back into the house.

"Your son said she was," Dean pointed out, looking at the boy.

"Did I?" Jake asked, looking innocently at us.

"She's getting groceries. So, when Duane gets back, is there a number where he can get a hold of you?" Mr Tanner asked.

"Oh no, we'll just check in with you later," Dean said with a shake of his head. He turned, throwing me a look that told me he was no more convinced at their story than I was feeling. He walked down the steps behind us and Mr Tanner closed the door.

"That was kind of creepy, right?" I asked. "A little too Stepford?"

"Big time," Sam said, and Dean nodded while he looked around to see if anyone was around to watch us. Seeing that we were alone, he crept around the side of the house, Sam and I in tow.

We crouched low, walking under the windows until we came to the back where the kitchen was located. Looking in the window we saw a woman tied to a chair, gagged, and both Mr Tanner and Jake were with her. We watched as Jake rolled up his sleeve, and Mr Tanner cut his arm with a knife. There was already a wound in the woman's shoulder and at the sight of the knife we acted, pulling our guns out from under our jackets.

Dean kicked the door in with a grunt and Sam raced in ahead of us, gun drawn. Mr Tanner rushed at us yelling, yielding his knife. Dean didn't hesitate, shooting him three times in the chest, he fell to the ground. I was on the boy, and started to follow him as he jumped out the nearest window, the glass shattering around him. Sam cut me off, moving into the window, gun pointing at the kid. He hesitated, and the boy got away by the time I pushed in.

* * *

**Medical Centre  
_River Grove_**

There was a medical centre in town, and Dean pulled up right out the front. Sam jumped out of the car, opening the back door where I was sitting with Beverly Tanner, the woman we had just rescued.

Beverly got out of the car, and Sam escorted her inside, I followed.

"Hello? Hello?" I called out as we got into the foyer. "We need a doctor here!"

A young blonde woman came rushing out, a look of concern on her face.

"Mrs Tanner? What happened?" She asked, looking at the three of us standing in the foyer.

"She's been attacked," Sam said, his arm around Beverly, who was looking like she was in shock.

"Doctor Lee?!" The girl called out, and another woman came running from the back room to greet us.

"Bring her in," the doctor said, waving us through to the other room. Beverly was crying now, the events of the last hour starting to sink in.

I saw Dean at the door of the medical centre, Mr Tanner's body hoisted over his shoulder and I rushed to open the door for him. He smiled gratefully at me as he carted the body into the foyer.

The doctor turned to stare at him. "Is that...?"

"Mr Tanner?" Dean said, finishing her question.

"Was he attacked too?" Dr Lee asked, looking up at me.

"Uh... no, actually, he did the attacking and then he got himself shot," I answered, looking at her.

"Shot?" Dr Lee asked, shocked.

"Yeah," Dean said grimly.

"And who are you?" Dr Lee asked him.

"U.S. Marshal," Dean and I both said in unison. He looked up at me with a chuckle.

Dean looked at the doctor, "I'd show you my badge, but..." he gestured to the dead body still hanging over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.

The doctor shook her head, gathering her wits. "Oh, sorry. Bring him back here." She waved us through to the back room where everyone else had gone.

Shortly after Dr Lee was treating Beverly in the examination room. She was seated on a table with her shirt off, and the doctor had bandaged up her left shoulder where she'd been cut.

"Wait, you said Jake helped him? Your son Jake?" The doctor looked at Beverly incredulously.

Beverly was close to tears again, nodding away at the questions. "They beat me. Tied me up..."

"I don't believe it," the blonde nurse said, staring at Beverly.

"Pam," Dr Lee cautioned her with a warning look, before turning back to her patient. "Beverly... do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not. I don't know why. One minute they were my husband and my son. And the next they had the devil in them," Beverly replied, crying.

I looked over at Dean and frowned when I heard that. Sam was looking around the room, thinking. We were all thinking it. Demons.

"We gotta talk," Dean said quietly to us both, and nodded toward the waiting room. We left the doctor to her examination and exited through the door.

"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds," Dean said forcefully as soon as we were alone.

"What do you think? Multiple demons, mass possession?" Sam asked, looking anxious.

"If it is a possession there could be more. I mean, God knows how many, it could be like a friggin' Shriner convention," Dean said passively, he was calm, but it was like the calm before the storm because I could tell there was something brewing underneath the surface.

"Great..." I muttered, crossing my arms and sighing.

"Of course, that's one way to wipe out a town, you take it from the inside," Dean said, it was a frightening proposition.

"I don't know man, we didn't see any of the demon smoke with Mr Tanner, or any of the other usual signs," Sam looked at me and frowned. "Did you feel anything?" He asked me.

I thought about it, my whole body had been feeling sick for a long time now, it was becoming hard to distinguish between regular stress and demon sense. I shrugged. "I don't know, I don't think so though," I said. Dean frowned.

"Well, something turned him into a monster," he said, then he turned to Sam. "And you know if you would have taken out the other one there'd be one less to worry about," he chastised Sam.

"I'm sorry, all right? I hesitated, Dean, it was a kid!" Sam said defensively.

"No, it was an 'it'. Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam." Dean said, giving him a hard stare.

Dr Lee walked out of the lab, her heels clicking loudly on the linoleum floor. The boys stopped their staring match and looked over at her.

"How's the patient?" Sam asked.

"Terrible! What the hell happened out there?" Dr Lee asked, casting a gaze around at all of us.

"We don't know," Dean said, turning to face her.

"Yeah?! Well you just _killed _my next door neighbour!" The doctor said, angry.

"We didn't have a choice," Dean said with a frown.

"Maybe so, but we need the county Sheriff. I need the coroner..." She stopped, looking harried.

"Phones are down," I said, and she nodded at me.

"I know, I tried," she replied. "Tell me, you have a police radio in the car?"

"Yeah, we do. But it crapped out just like everything else," Sam said, an apologetic look on his face.

"I don't understand what is happening," the doctor said, starting to look worried. Dean exchanged a look with me, one I didn't like.

"How far is it to the next town?" He asked the doctor and I bit my lip.

"It's about forty miles down to Sidewinder," the doctor replied. Dean considered and I shook my head at him, letting him know I didn't like his idea.

"All right," Dean said, ignoring me. "I'm gonna go down there, see if I can find some help." He clapped Sam on the shoulder and looked over at me. "These guys will stick around, keep you guys safe."

"Safe from what?" Dr Lee asked. Dean looked at her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"We'll get back to you on that," he said, starting to walk for the door. I stalked after him, grabbing his arm.

"You're not leaving me here Dean," I said quietly, "we shouldn't be splitting up, we have no idea what's going on here."

Dean turned and pulled me out into the foyer where we had some privacy.

"That's exactly why you should stay here, it's safer," Dean said, looking at me worried.

"Oh don't you start that chauvinistic, over protective crap on me Dean Winchester," I said, glaring at him. He sighed, reaching out to brush a hand along my cheek.

"That's not going to work either, buster," I said with a smile and he groaned in frustration.

"Yes, it's safer here. That's exactly why one of us should be going with you. You might need the back-up," I reasoned with him, and he shook his head stubbornly.

"She's right," Sam said, stepping into the foyer and clearing his throat.

Dean threw his hands up in the air and turned to look at us both. I crossed my arms over my chest and raised my eyebrow.

"I'm coming with you, Sam's more than capable of handling things here," I said, giving him my best no-negotiation tone.

"I hate it when you two gang up on me!" Dean said, but he nodded at me and I smiled, walking toward the door.

"We'll be back as soon as we can," I heard Dean tell Sam. "Just, don't do anything stupid."

Stupid. I shook my head, laughing to myself. All we seemed to do these days was stupid stuff. Maybe it should be our motto, _into the fray with stupid intentions!_

* * *

About ten miles out of town we came across a wrecked car sitting in the middle of the right hand lane. Dean pulled to a stop behind it, picking up the shotgun that was lying between us on the seat.

"Wait here," he told me, and got out of the car.

"Like Hell!" I muttered, and got out of the passenger side, my handgun drawn and ready to go. Dean shook his head at me in frustration but turned his attention to the car in front of us. The side windows were smashed out, glass littered the ground. I gulped at the baby seat in the back, it was covered in blood. I didn't want to think about whose these people were.

There was blood everywhere, and I started to feel nauseas just looking at it. Dean stooped to pick up something, when he stood up he showed me a large bloody knife. I swallowed hard, looking around us into the trees. We were out in the open, sitting ducks. Dean seemed to have the same idea and inclined his head back to the Impala. I tried to appear casual as I walked back, but my heart was racing a mile a minute, I couldn't get my mind off that babyseat, and what had likely happened here.

Once in the car, I relaxed, breathing a little bit. I wound up the window, just the same, and it made me feel a little better.

"You ok?" Dean asked, looking at me.

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

"Cause you look a little pale," he said, worried.

"Yeah, it's just, there... there was a baby in that car," I said, biting my lip. He paused and looked at me.

"Yeah, yeah I know," he said quietly. He tossed the knife into a plastic bag and put it on the floor in the back so we didn't have to look at it. With another worried glance at me he started the car up, and eased around the wreck, I nodded, we had to get to the next town over and get help.

Five minutes later we were coming up to the bridge, rounding the corner only to find it was blocked by a couple of cars and half a dozen men with guns. I recognised the boy from earlier, Beverly's son, as being among them. Dean pulled the car to a stop about ten yards away, exchanging a concerned look with me.

"This isn't good," I said, and he nodded.

Something banged on the roof of the car and we jumped.

"Oh-ho-ho. Hey!" Dean said, as a man leaned down to look in the open window at us. I silently cursed Dean for leaving his window open, what was he thinking? The man looked innocent enough, middle-aged, short dark hair, dark eyes and regular casual clothing on. He looked like he'd just walked out of the local diner having just been out for a meal. But there was an underlying threat I thought I could feel, a gut feeling, something about this whole set-up wasn't right.

"Sorry," the man said, "road's closed."

"Yeah, I can see that. What's up?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"Quarantine," the man said with a nod.

"Quarantine?" I asked, frowning. "What for?" I was quietly fingering my gun which I had tucked down between me and the door, it just felt like things were about to go crazy, I kept thinking back to all that blood in the car we'd passed.

"Don't know," he answered me. "Something going around out there."

"Uh-huh," Dean said, "who told you that?"

"County Sheriff," the man replied.

"Is he here?" Dean asked, looking over at the group of people blocking the road.

"No. He called. Say, why don't you get out of the car and we'll talk a little?" Dean laughed nervously at that suggestion and I found my finger getting a little itchy on the trigger of my gun as I tried to keep my expression innocent and casual.

"Well, you are a handsome devil, but I don't swing that way, sorry," Dean said with a chuckle. The man didn't laugh, nor did he appear to find Dean's humour funny.

"I'd sure appreciate it if you go out of the car, just for a quick minute," the man said. Dean tossed me a quick look that usually proceeded one of his rash actions, and I braced myself for whatever was coming.

"Yeah, I bet you would," Dean said to the man, slamming the car into a quick reverse and spinning the wheels, sending us hurtling back the way we had come.

The man grabbed Dean's collar and hung on, dragged by the car. The men at the roadblock began firing at us, and Dean swung the car around to put some distance between us, the man was thrown free of the car as we raced back down the road, the way we had come.

* * *

We were coming back through town within minutes. Dean drove us slowly through the main street, when out of the blue the man from the store who we'd seen earlier stepped into the road, brandishing a rifle at us. Dean stopped the car.

"Hands where I can see 'em!" He ordered us and I complied, raising my hands up. Dean put his up too.

"Ok!" Dean called out, throwing me a concerned look.

"Get out of the car! Out of the car!" The man yelled at us.

We opened our doors slowly and started to climb out.

"All right, easy there big guy," Dean said, staring at the man. He kept his gun trained on Dean mostly which presented me with the perfect opportunity. I pulled my handgun on him.

"All right, put it down!" I ordered him, holding the gun out and aiming at him.

He swung his gun on me next. "Lower it now!" He yelled and I shook my head.

Next Dean had his gun out too, joining the stand off. "Put it down!" He said angrily to the man.

The man struggled to decide on who to keep his gun on, looking from me to Dean. "Are you one of 'em?" He asked us and we shook our heads.

"No! Are you?" Dean asked.

"No!" The man exclaimed.

"You could be lying!" I said, thinking about the man we'd just left lying on the side of the road.

"So could you!" He said back at me.

"All right! All right," Dean said, holding his free hand out to the man. "We could do this all day, all right? Let's just uh, let's just take it easy before we all kill each other."

I glanced over at Dean but I didn't relax on my stance. Dean was lowering his gun, and it seemed to relax the man in front of us.

"What's going on with everybody?" He asked us, frowning.

"I don't know," Dean answered honestly, and I nodded.

The man looked around us. "My neighbour... Mr. Rogers...he..."

"You have a neighbour named Mr Rogers?" Dean asked, amused.

"Not any more," the man said in all seriousness. Dean shook his head. "He came at me with a hatchet. I put him down. He's not the only one, I mean, it's happening to everyone." I shook my head, something about shooting someone called Mr Rogers just seemed wrong.

"We're heading over to the Doc's place, there's still some people left." Dean said to him.

"No, no way. I'm getting the hell out," the man said, shaking his head.

"There's no way out, they have the bridge covered." I said to him and he looked at me.

"I don't believe you," he said.

"Fine, stay here, be my guest," I said, I didn't really care one way or the other.

Dean and I climbed back into the car, the man hesitated, looking between Dean and myself. He pulled a handgun out of his pants and then climbed into the back seat sitting between the two of us. I turned and pointed my own gun at him, he had his rifle pointed at Dean, and handgun at me.

"Well, this ought to be a relaxing drive," Dean muttered to me, putting the car into drive. Fortunately for us, it was only a short one.

When we reached the medical centre I got out of the car, dropping the gun I had trained on the man who we'd learned was called Mark, though Dean had taken to calling him Sarge after his old military rank. I banged on the door to get Sam's attention.

"Sammy? Open up!" I said, completely forgetting out cover names. Interestingly enough, no one seemed to notice.

Sam opened the door and let us in.

"Did you guys get to a phone?" Sam asked and I shook my head.

"Road block," Dean said. He turned to Mark and nodded toward the interior of the centre. "I'm gonna have a word. Doc's inside."

Mark left us with a short nod, and Sam looked at the pair of us. "What's going on out there?"

"Man, I don't know," Dean said, throwing his arms up in the air, still carrying his handgun. "I feel like Chuck Heston in the Omega Man, I mean, Sarge is the only sane person we could find!"

"What are we dealing with, do you know?" I asked Sam, looking at the youngest of us, he looked tired and worried.

"Yeah. Doc thinks it's a virus," Sam answered, looking back toward the inner room.

"Ok, great. What do you think?" Dean asked him.

"I think she's right," Sam said, nodding.

"Really?" Dean asked, stopping his pacing and looking thoughtful.

"Yeah. And I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood-to-blood contact." Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. "Oh, but it gets better. The uh, the virus? Leaves traces of sulphur in the blood."

"Sulphur?" I said with a frown. "A demonic virus?"

"Yeah, more like demonic germ warfare. At least it explains why I've been having visions. Maybe why Beth has been so sick..." Sam said, looking over at me.

"It's like a Biblical plague," Dean said, looking out the window and tucking his gun into his waistband at the small of his back. I tucked my own in the same place inside my own waistband and ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah. You don't know how right you are Dean. I've been poring through Dad's journal, found something about the Roanoke colony," Sam said, looking back at Dean.

"And?" Dean asked.

"Dad always had a theory about Croatoan. He thought it was a demon's name. Sometimes known as Deva or sometimes Reesha. A demon of plague and pestilence." Sam said, gulping and looking at us.

"Well, that, that's terrific!" Dean said sarcastically. "Why here, why now?"

"I have no idea. But Dean, who knows how far this thing can spread? We gotta get out of here, we gotta warn people," Sam said looking worried.

Suddenly Mark's voice called out to us. "_They've got one! In here!" _

We all rushed into the next room and Dean looked at Mark. "What do you mean?"

"The wife, she's infected," Sam informed us.

"We've gotta take care of this. We can't just leave her in there," Mark said. "My neighbours, they were strong. The longer we wait, the stronger she'll get."

Dean pulled his gun, barely even hesitating before stalking into the examination room where Beverly was now being held prisoner. I exchanged a concerned look with Sam before following him.

"You're going to kill Beverly Tanner?" Pam asked, looking freaked out at Mark who was now standing in the room, gun out.

Sam stepped up, trying to calm the situation down. "Doctor, could there be any treatment? Some kind of cure for this?"

The doctor hesitated, looking at Sam.

"Can you cure it?" Dean asked directly.

"For God's sake, I don't even know what 'it' is!" The doctor said, looking scared.

"I told you, it's just a matter of time before she breaks through," Mark said, nodding at the supply room where they had locked Beverly.

"Just leave her in there, you can't shoot her like an animal!" Pam cried out.

"Sam," Dean said, but Sam hesitated, shaking his head. Dean looked at me, serious and demanding my help. I bit my lip, but pulled my gun out just the same with a nod.

"Wait... Beth..." Sam said, frowning. I shook my head at him, joining Dean.

We approached the room, guns ready.

"Are you sure about this?" I whispered to Dean quietly, he just nodded at me, turning his eyes to look at me. He wasn't happy, that much was clear, but someone had to do it – it would have to be us.

I nodded my readiness and reached out to carefully open the door. Dean and Mark took up defensive positions behind me. I carefully opened the door, looking at Dean and then swung it open, pushing up against the wall to let the two men pass me.

Beverly was huddled on the floor in the corner, her knees drawn up. She jumped as soon as the door opened.

"Mark, what are you doing? Mark, it's, it's them! They locked me in here, they, they tried to kill me!" She cried out. "They're infected, not me! Please, Mark! You've known me all your life! Please!" She begged him not to shoot her, crying, and Mark struggled, looking at her.

"You sure she's one of them?" Dean asked, looking back at Sam.

Sam looked distressed, but he nodded. Mark pulled back, unable to go through with it. Dean closed his eyes for a split second, then looked up at me, uncertainty in his eyes. I looked at Beverly and then thought about the others, her husband and son who had turned on us like wild dogs. I nodded, giving him my support, it had to be done.

Dean stepped forward, raising the gun and shooting Beverly three times. Sam and Mark flinched, the other women were crying, upset at the direction this situation had taken, they left the examination room, and I looked about, wondering if this was the last room any of us would see for a while.

* * *

I was standing at the window with Mark, peering through the blinds. There was a crowd of people, infected people, starting to gather outside, standing in the mist of the evening, lit up only from the street lights.

Sam and Dean were going through the duffel bags of weapons we'd brought in from the Impala, loading the guns, checking the blades of the knives. Sam was staring at Dean, his face unreadable but clearly there was something on his mind. Dean was saying nothing, silent and broody, methodically loading the guns and checking their safeties.

There was a shout from the other room and we all came into the room. Pam had dropped a vial of blood all over the floor, and was freaking out.

"Oh god! Is there any on me? Am I ok?" She asked, brushing at her arms.

"You're clean, you're ok," Dr Lee said, reassuring the girl.

"Why are we staying here? Please, let's just go!" Pam asked, looking at us all.

"No, we can't, because those things are everywhere," I said, talking about the infected people outside.

Pam bent over, hands on her knees. "Oh god!" She muttered, her breathing erratic and frightened.

"Hey, shh, shhh, shhh," Dr Lee said to her, trying to calm her down.

"She's right about one thing," I said to Dean, "We can't stay here. We've got to get out of here, get to the Roadhouse? Somewhere. We have to let people know what's coming."

Dean looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, good point. Night of the Living Dead didn't exactly end pretty," he said with a smirk and I smiled at the attempt at humour. There was one thing you could always count on in a life or death situation, and that was Dean coming up with some bizarre movie reference.

"Well, I'm not sure we've got a choice. Lots of folks up here are good with rifles – even with all your hardware we're, we're easy targets," Mark said. "So unless you've got some explosives..."

Sam was looking at the medical supply shelf behind Pam and smiling.

"We could make some," he said, raising his eyebrows and nodding at the shelf. He took down a bottle of Potassium Chloride and I grinned. We could indeed.

Suddenly a pounding started at the door. Dean and I ran out, leaving Sam to the chemicals.

"Hey! Let me in, let me in! Please!" Came a voice from outside.

"It's Duane Tanner!" Mark said, running and opening the door to let Duane in. The boy had a backpack on and was limping.

"Thank god," he said, gasping for a breath and stumbling inside.

"Duane, you ok?" Mark asked, locking the door behind the boy and following him as he moved into the building. Dean watched him and turned to Sam.

"That's the guy I...uh..." he clicked his tongue and ran his thumb across his neck as if he was slitting the guy's throat.

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod.

"Who else is in here?" Duane asked, looking around.

Dean grabbed Duane's arm and pulled the boy to a stop. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there, chief," he said looking over at Dr Lee. "Hey Doc! Give Duane a good once-over, would you?"

The doctor nodded and led the way back into the examination room, Duane followed her, looking confused.

"Who are you?" Duane asked, glancing back at Dean.

"Never mind who I am," Dean said, nodding at the doctor. "Doc."

"Yeah, ok," Dr Lee said grabbing some gloves from the dispenser on the wall.

"Where you been Duane?" Mark asked the boy, who took a seat on the examination table.

"On a fishing trip up by Roslyn. I came back this afternoon. I … I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know! They started cutting him with knives! I ran, I've been hiding in the woods ever since," he looked sincere, and certainly bedraggled like someone who had spent the better part of the day hiding and running through woods.

Duane looked around at everyone, a frown on his face. "Has anybody seen my mom and dad?"

Dean turned to me and attempted a joke. "Awkward..." he said, grimacing. I shook my head and punched him in the arm lightly, rolling my eyes.

My eyes were drawn to a deep gash in Duane's leg.

"Where did you get that?" I asked, pointing at it.

"I was running, I must have tripped." Duane answered, looking down at the wound as if he was seeing it for the first time.

"Tie him up, there's rope in there," Dean said, suddenly all business.

"Wait..." Duane said confused, getting off the table.

"Sit down!" Dean yelled at him, pulling his gun and cocking it.

Duane backed up, looking over at Mark, scared.

"I'm sorry, Duane, he's right. We've gotta be careful." Mark said to the boy.

"Careful? About what?" Duane asked.

"Did they bleed on you?" Dean asked, still holding the boy at gunpoint.

"No, what the hell? No!" Duane answered, looking freaked out.

"Doc? Anyway to know for sure, any test?" Sam asked, always the cautious one.

"I've studied Beverly's bloodwork backwards and forwards," Dr Lee said. Duane's ears perked up at the name.

"My mom?" He asked

"It took three hours for the virus to incubate. The sulphur didn't appear in the blood until then, so... no, there'd be no way of knowing. Not until after Duane turns," the doctor finished.

"Dean, I gotta talk to you. Now." Sam said. Dean glanced at Mark who nodded at him. The three of us left the room.

Once out of earshot Sam turned to us with his usual worried look. "This is my vision, Dean. It's happening."

"Yeah, I figured." Dean said.

"You can't kill him, all right? Not yet. We don't know if he's infected or not," Sam argued, trying to make his point.

"Well, I think we're pretty damn sure. Guy shows up out of nowhere, he's got a cut on his leg, his whole family's infected?" Dean was making some pretty good points of his own.

"All right, then we should keep him tied up, and we should wait and see." Sam said.

"For what? For him to Hulk out and infect somebody else? No thanks, can't take that chance." Dean said, starting to push past Sam, heading back to the examination room. Sam put his hand to his chest, stopping him.

Dean sighed. "Hey look, man, I'm not happy about this, ok?" He glanced over at me, the same look in his eyes that he'd had before he'd shot Beverly. "But it's a tough job and you know that."

"It's supposed to be tough, Dean. We're supposed to struggle with this, that's the whole point," Sam said. I frowned and crossed over to the hallway that would lead us to the room Duane was tied up in.

"What does that buy us?" Dean said, still arguing with Sam.

"A clear conscience, for one!" Sam said, frowning.

"Well, it's too late for that," Dean said, trying to push past Sam again.

Sam stopped him again. "What the hell's happened to you?!"

"What?" Dean asked frowning, looking at Sam.

"You might kill an innocent man, and you don't even care! You don't act like yourself anymore, Dean. Hell, you know what? You're acting like one of those things out there." Sam said, and I stared at the both of them.

Dean lost his temper, grabbing Sam and throwing him across the room into a wall, stalking into the hallways, pushing me ahead of him as I was half blocking the way. Once in, he turned and locked the door behind us, Sam was banging on the window, still arguing with Dean.

"Hey!" Sam said. "Open the damn door, Dean! Don't do it Dean! Don't! Beth, open the door!"

I looked between the pair of them. Dean pulled out his gun from the back of his waistband, dropped the clip out of his gun, tapped it against the butt and then replaced it. He paused for a moment, looking at the gun and then walked into the examination room, I was following him, right behind.

Duane was tied to the chair, Mark, Pam and Dr Lee all standing nearby. Dean stared at the young man and his eyes widened at what he saw there.

"No, you're not gonna... No, no, I swear it's not in me!" Duane begged, looking terrified.

"Oh God. We're all gonna die," Pam cried, leaning back against the wall.

"Maybe he's telling the truth," I said to Dean, looking at the boy.

"No, he's not him, not anymore," Dean said, cocking the gun and half-raising it.

"Stop it! Ask her, ask the doctor! It's not in me!" Duane said, tears in his eyes as he looked at Dr Lee. Dean looked questioningly at her, and she stepped back, looking worried and panicked.

"I... I can't tell," she said.

Duane sobbed. "Please, don't. Don't, please. I swear, it's not in me, it's not in me, I swear, I, I swear it's not in me. No, don't."

Dean struggled, looking at the boy. "I got no choice," he said resolutely. He pointed the gun at Duane, his finger hovering over the trigger. Duane's head fell to his chest as he sobbed, everyone else stood watching, you could cut the tension with a knife.

I saw him hesitate, just for a moment, a slight tremble of the hand, and it was enough for me. I stepped forward, and gently took Dean's arm in my hand. He looked at me, the uncertainty starting to show in his eyes. I looked at him, letting him see that it was ok to stand down, that we could find another way. He looked back at Duane and tried to steel his resolve but it was gone.

"Dean..." I said softly. "I have a doubt." He blinked and then nodded, lowering his gun with a grimace, turning his eyes to me.

"Damn it!" Dean exclaimed, turning and walking out of the room. I stared at his retreating back and then looked at Duane who was crying with relief.

"Thank you, thank you..." he said. I frowned, it wasn't me he should be thanking.

* * *

A few hours later we were still waiting on the results for Duane's blood work. Sam and Dean were in the other room getting together the supplies to make the Molotov cocktails. I slipped away and found the doctor in the room next door to the examination room, it was some sort of lab where she was conducting the blood work.

"Hey Doc," I said, stepping in and closing the door.

"Hi Beth, how can I help?" She asked, looking at me.

"Uh, I was wondering if you could run a blood test on me?" I said, looking at her.

"Why? You haven't been exposed to any of the infection have you?" She asked, confused.

"No, no I haven't... I want you to uh, to run a different kind of test." I said, I couldn't even get the words out it was that damn terrifying an idea. But we'd discussed it, and I had agreed, and well... what better opportunity than right now?

"I need you to run a general work-up, I haven't been feeling my usual self lately – and there's a chance... I might be pregnant," I said to her finally, forcing the words out.

"Oh," she said to me, smiling. "Dean?" She guessed, with a raised eyebrow. I nodded. She smirked. "Couldn't say I blame you, can't be easy working with two hot guys."

I laughed and shook my head.

"Yeah, listen Doc. We're not really marshals..." I said, hoping she wouldn't freak out about it. "They're brothers, I grew up with them. This kind of situation we're in? All the nut-jobs out there? This is kind of par for the course with us, this is our job, it's kind of like... _X-files_ I suppose, but for real."

The doctor looked at me, eyes widening and then strangely, she nodded and seemed to just, accept the truth. I was amazed really.

"OK. Yeah, ok, after the day I've had, why not? Well let's get a blood sample, and see where you're at, hmm?" Dr Lee said and I nodded.

Once she was on her way to testing the blood, I returned to the room where the boys were. We worked away on the bottles for a while and then I started to pace the room, feeling angsty. I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to the question, maybe it was easier just not knowing.

Dean frowned, watching me pace, but he didn't say anything. Eventually Sam got up and wandered off, heading into the lab to check for more supplies.

There was a brief conversation held where the doctor raised her voice at Sam, and I frowned, going into the room, Dean following me. Sam was looking at a print out of results in front of him, his eyes curious.

"Whose blood work does this belong to?" He asked the doctor, and she looked down, refusing to answer.

"Answer him!" Dean said, stepping into the room. "What's going on here?"

Sam was reading it and tilted his head to the side. "It's mine," I said, looking at Dean, and he frowned.

"Huh?" He asked, looking confused.

Sam looked up suddenly, staring at me. "Why did you get this run?" He asked.

I shrugged. "I haven't been feeling real well lately," I said to him, well that was true at least.

"Is she ok?" Dean asked, looking at Sam.

"Yeah, yeah everything seems to be perfectly normal... other than an abnormally high level of HGC," he said, looking over at me, I looked at him curious.

Dean frowned. "Thought you just said she was ok?"

Sam glanced down at the floor, a small smile on his face, and when he looked back up at Dean, a chuckle escaped his lips.

"OK, so we've already established you didn't pay attention in History, Dean. But did you pay any attention in Biology?" He asked his brother.

I was shaking my head, face in my hand, and I had a sickening thought at where he was going with this.

Dean gave me his usual trademark smirk, a swagger nod and looked me over. "Of course I did Sammy, female anatomy I believe I aced," he snorted, winking at me. I laughed, that much I could agree on. Sam looked between the two of us and gave an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes.

"Dean... you're, you're unbelievable man! How can you know so much about some stuff, and yet be completely _clueless _about others..." Sam said, throwing his hand in the air, looking at me. He raised his eyebrow and I just knew, I knew that's what he was saying.

Dean frowned, looking at me. "Um, what the hell is he talking about?"

I sighed, looking up at Dean, my mouth twitching. "You remember last night... that little conversation we were having... on the way back to the motel?"

"Yeah," he nodded. I didn't say anything, just looked at him, raising an eyebrow and waiting. He'd get it, just give him a second. Sam snorted, barely containing his laughter at his older brother. Finally the realisation hit Dean and his eyes widened, shocked. He leaned in to me, resting his forehead against mine.

"Really?" He asked softly and I nodded.

"Looks that way," I said carefully. The doctor was smiling at us both, not really understanding the full implications of what this news meant to us all. Everyone always assumed people would be happy to find out news like this, but we weren't ordinary _normal _people.

"Congratulations!" Dr Lee said, beaming at us.

We looked over at her, and then at Sammy, who was shaking his head at us. "Well you've really gone and done it now you pair," he said to us, chuckling away. He walked past us, patting Dean on the back.

"Now we really do have to get out of here," he said as he left the room, shutting the door behind him. I had to agree, the man had a point.

An hour later and we were all back to business, still making explosives, none of us discussing our news. It was as if it hadn't happened, and would remain that way until the danger was out of the way.

Dr. Lee came into the room, hands in her pockets and looked at Dean.

"It's been over four hours. Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected. I'd like to untie him, if that's all right," she said.

Dean shared a look with Sam, and then Sam nodded to the doctor. "Sure, yeah," Sam said. The doctor left and Sam looked over at Dean.

"You know I'm going to ask you why," Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, I know," Dean replied.

"So why? Why didn't you do it?" Sam asked, looking in the direction of where Duane was.

Dean didn't answer, just looked at me. "We need more alcohol," he said. I went to stand and get some, but Sam put a hand on my arm and shook his head.

"I'll go," he said with a smile. He stood up and went into the dispensary. I turned to Dean and fixed my gaze on him.

"You ok?" I asked, and he looked over at me with a half-smile.

"Yeah, I'm good," he answered, leaning over to kiss me briefly.

"Are you happy?" I asked, looking at him, not sure how he was taking the news really. I wasn't even sure how I was taking it. It was a complication, perhaps a welcome one, perhaps not.

He leaned in to kiss me again, this time in his more characteristic deep and passionate way, drawing it out and leaving me wanting more. I groaned a little when he pulled away. He paused to nod in answer to my question.

"Are you happy?" He asked in turn and I nodded with a smile.

"Getting better now," I said, grinning at him.

Dean chuckled and leaned in to kiss me again, but we were interrupted by some yelling in the dispensary. We were instantly on our feet and across the room to the door, which was locked. I looked through the little window to see Sam on the ground, Pam standing over him with a blade. Dean pushed me out of the way, kicking in the door and I rushed in, gun drawn, shooting her in the back three times. She convulsed and fell to the floor. Sam was writhing on the floor, reaching out to us, I went to help him up as did Dean, but Mark pulled him back. I hesitated.

"She bled on him. He's got the virus," Mark said. Sam pulled his hand back as I reached for it, realising that it was true. Dean looked stunned and I shook my head.

"No, no..." I said, going to Sam's side. "Come on Sammy, you're gonna be ok, you'll be fine," I said, getting under his arm. I was careful not to touch the blood that was seeping out of his chest where Pam had cut him, but no one was leaving my brother on the floor like this.

We moved him to the examination room. Sam was sedate and quiet, tears in his eyes as he looked down at the floor. Everyone was surrounding him, Dean paced angrily around the room.

"Doc, check his wound again, would you?" Dean said. She didn't move and Dean paused to look at her. "Doctor!" Dr Lee startled, moving toward Sam.

"What's she need to examine him for? You saw what happened." Mark said.

"Did her blood actually enter your wound?" The doctor asked, hopeful that it hadn't.

"Come on, of course it did!" Mark said.

"We don't know that for sure," Dean said, disagreeing.

"We can't take a chance," Duane said, agreeing with Mark.

"You know what we have to do," Mark said, looking at Dean.

"Nobody is shooting my brother," I said sternly, my hand going to my waist where I had my gun lodged.

"He isn't gonna be your brother much longer. You said it yourself," Duane said to me and I frowned.

"Nobody is shooting anyone!" Dean shouted, stopping his pacing.

"You were gonna shoot me!" Duane countered angrily.

"You don't shut your pie-hole, I still might!" Dean threatened him, eyes flashing.

"Dean, they're right. I'm infected; just give me the gun and I'll do it myself." Sam said quietly.

"Forget it," Dean said to him, shaking his head.

"Guys, I'm not gonna become one of those things," Sam said, looking between the two of us.

"Sam, we've still got some time," Dean said.

"Time for what? Look, I understand he's your brother, and I'm sorry, I am. But we gotta take care of this," Mark said, pulling out his handgun.

My gun was out in an instant, pointed directly at him.

"I'm gonna say this one more time, and one more time only," I said, looking at everyone with a quiet fury. "You make a move on my brother and you'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me? Do I make myself clear?!"

Mark looked at me, not even attempting to raise his gun up. "Then what are we supposed to do?!" He yelled at us.

Dean tossed Mark the keys to the Impala.

"Get the hell out of here, that's what. Take my car. You've got the explosives, there's an arsenal in there. You two go with him," Dean said. "You've got enough fire power to handle anything now."

"What about you two?" Mark asked.

"We're staying," I said.

"What, no. No. Go with them, Dean, Beth. This is your only chance!" Sam said, anxious and upset.

"You're not getting rid of us that easy Sammy," I said quietly, lowering my gun.

"No, he's right. Come with us," Mark said looking at us.

I stared at Dean and he stared back at me. We both knew we weren't going anywhere, this was where we had promised to be, for each other, and for John.

"Are you crazy? You have a family to think about now," the doctor said, looking at me then Dean. I shook my head at Dean.

"Sam is our family," I said softly. "We promised to look after him." Sam's face broke and he started to sniff back tears. I put my arm around him, brushing his hair out of his face like I used to when we were teens and he'd get sick.

"Ok, it's your funeral," Mark said after a moment. He led the way out of the room with Duane and Dr Lee.

As they left Dean shut the door and locked it, turning to look at us both.

"Wish we had a deck of cards, or a foosball table or something." Dean quipped, always with the joke-in-the-face-of-death. I smiled at him, I swear I was the only one who laughed at his jokes sometimes, but then, maybe that was all that mattered anyway.

"Dean... Beth... don't do this. Just get the hell out of here," Sam begged us.

"No way," Dean said, shaking his head.

"Give me my gun, and leave," Sam said, looking at me.

"For the last time, Sammy. No." I said, staring at his brown eyes.

Sam slammed the table causing me to step back a little toward Dean. "This is the dumbest thing you two have every done!"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Dean said with a grin, looking at me. "Remember that waitress in Tampa?" I shuddered, thinking about it. Waaaay too much tequila that night, for sure.

Sam just shook his head at us. "Guys, I'm sick. It doesn't have to be over for you."

"No?" Dean asked, looking at him.

"No, you can keep going," Sam said.

"Who says we want to?" I asked, looking at Sam.

"What?" Sam asked, frowning.

Dean crossed to the other wall, sitting down on the edge of a desk, pulling out his handgun and holding it in his hands for a while before setting it next to him.

"I'm tired, Sam. I'm tired of this job, this life... this weight on my shoulders, man. I'm tired of it," Dean said, taking a deep breath. I looked at him sympathetically and crossed to wrap my arms around his waist for a hug, he pulled me into him but kept looking at Sam.

"So, what... you're just going to give up? You're just gonna lay down and die? Especially now?! You guys have something to live for now, something worth leaving the job for," Sam said, looking at us. "Look, I know this stuff with Dad has..."

"You're wrong. It's not about Dad. I mean, part of it is, sure.. but..." Dean faltered, not voicing what he was thinking.

"What is it about?" Sam asked.

There was a knock at the door and we all looked up with a frown. Dean picked up his handgun and crossed to the door. Dr Lee was standing on the other side. He opened the door and looked out at her questioningly.

"You'd better come see this," she said. We all got up and followed.

Outside the clinic, the streets were empty. It was deathly quiet, not even the sounds of insects or animals. The people we'd seen earlier were all gone.

"There's no one. Not anywhere. They've all just... vanished." The doctor said, looking a little frightened.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Dawn had finally come, washing away all the shadows of the night, and the haunting feeling that even though there was no one around, we still felt like we were being watched.

Dr Lee was looking through the microscope, Sam was seated on the exam table.

"Well, it's been five hours and your blood is still clean. I don't understand it but I think you dodged a bullet," she said to him.

"But I was exposed. How could I not be infected?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. But you're just not. I mean, you compare it with the Tanner samples..." she paused to look through another microscope. "What the hell?"

"What?" I asked, going over to her, curious.

"Their blood. There's no trace of the virus. No sulphur. Nothing." She said, looking at the three of us with some concern. I frowned, wondering what this might mean.

A short time later we were all preparing to leave. Mark and Duane were loading up a truck, Dr Lee was standing in the door way to the clinic, watching us all.

"Hey, the Sarge and I are getting the hell out of here, heading south. You should come," Duane said to the doctor.

"I'd better get over to Sidewinder, get the authorities up here. If they'll believe me. Take care." She said with a smile. Mark waved to her, then to the three of us, who were leaning against the Impala.

Dean looked at Sam. "What about him?" He asked the doctor.

"He's going to be fine. No signs of infection," she said with a smile. We said our farewells and Dr Lee went back inside as Mark and Duane pulled away down the street.

Dean turned to Sam and frowned.

"Hey man, don't look at me. I got no clue." Sam said, raising his hands in the air.

"I swear, I'm gonna lose sleep over this one. I mean, why here, why now? And where the hell did everybody go? It's like they just friggin' melted," Dean said, looking a little distressed.

"Why was I immune?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, you know what? That's a good question," Dean nodded, adding to his concerns. "You know, I'm already starting to feel like this is the one that got away?"

We got in the car and pulled away from the town. It no longer seemed like the lovely little town it was when we'd first arrived. I couldn't wait to the see the back of it.

Dean pulled over at the first liquor store he saw, grabbing a six pack and a couple of cokes from the store along with some beef jerky, just in case I was having some cravings I guessed.

We pulled off the side of the road further down and got out. He cracked a beer for Sam and himself, and handed me a coke. I raised my eyebrow at him with a sigh. He chuckled. "Non-alcoholic for you cherry-pie, sorry." He said it, but I could tell he was going to enjoy this just a little too much, I narrowed my eyes at him but then smiled.

Sam was leaning against a fence watching us.

"So. Last night. You want to tell me what the hell you were all talking about?" He asked us.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently.

"What do I mean? I mean that you're both tired of the job. And that it's not because of Dad..." Sam said, prompting for more information.

"Forget it," Dean said, dismissing it.

"No, I can't. No way," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Come on man, I thought we were all going to die, you can't hold that over me," Dean said with a groan.

"No, no, no, no. You can't pull that crap with me, man. You're talking." Sam said.

"What if we don't?" I asked, teasing with a smirk.

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do," Sam said, Dean and I exchanged a look with a groan. It wouldn't be the first time Sam had tried the constant chatter to torture us.

Dean shrugged, looking at Sam.

"I don't know, man. I just think maybe we ought to... go to the Grand Canyon." Dean said. I smiled and nodded, that was a good one to add to our list.

"What?" Sam asked, not understanding.

"Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth across country, you know we've never been to the Grand Canyon? Or we could go to T.J or Hollywood... see if you can bang Lindsey Lohan." He grinned at that.

"You're not making any sense," Sam said, shaking his head.

Dean paused, looking over at me, a smile playing on his mouth. He waved me over and I joined him, snaking in under his arm, and wrapping my arm around his waist.

"I just think we should take a break from all this. Why do we have to get stuck with all the responsibility, you know? Why can't we live life a little bit?" He looked down at me. "A normal life," he added and kissed my forehead.

"Why are you saying all this?" Sam asked and we frowned at him.

"No, no no no, guys, I'm your brother, all right? So whatever weight you're carrying, you need to let me help a little bit. You don't always have to be the older sibs who do it all you know."

"We can't," I said. "We promised."

"Who?" Sam asked, although he had to know the answer, surely.

"Dad," Dean said simply, shrugging.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused now more than ever.

Dean looked down at me and I swallowed. I nodded slightly, letting him know I felt we should tell him finally, and Dean considered, thinking long and hard.

"Look, right before Dad died, he told me something," Dean said, looking at Sam. "He told me something about you."

"What? Dean, what did he tell you?" Sam asked, looking concerned.

"He said that he wanted us to watch out for you, to take care of you," Dean said, looking down at the ground.

Sam shook his head, not understanding. "He told you that a million times."

"No, this time was different. He said that I had to save you. That _we _had to save you, Sam." Dean said, looking over at me.

"Save me from what?" Sam asked.

"He just said we had to save you, that nothing else mattered; and that if we couldn't..." Dean's voice trailed off.

"If you couldn't?" Sam prompted, looking at us.

Dean sighed, looking up at Sam. "That I'd have to kill you. He said that I might have to kill you, Sammy."

Sam looked shocked and stunned all at once. He swallowed and looked at both me and then Dean. "Kill me? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," Dean whispered.

"I mean, he must have had some kind of reason for saying it, right? Did he know the demon's plans for me? Am I supposed to go Darkside or something? What else did he say?" Sam asked, getting angry.

"Nothing, that's it. I swear," Dean said.

"How could you not have told me this?" Sam asked, looking hurt.

"Because it was Dad, and he begged me not to," Dean said.

"Who cares?!" Sam said loudly, getting angry again. "Take some responsibility for yourself Dean! You had no right to keep this from me!"

"You think I wanted this? Huh? I wish to God he'd never opened his mouth. Then I couldn't have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day." Dean said, shaking his head.

Sam turned and took a few steps away, his face was fuming.

"We've just got to figure out what's going on , then, what the hell all this means," Sam said.

I looked down, silent, I didn't know how I could contribute to this conversation.

"We do?" Dean asked, looking back at Sam. "Because I been thinking about this, I think we should just lay low. You know? At least for a while. It'd be safer. And that way I can make sure..."

"What?" Sam interrupted, still angry. "That I don't turn evil? That I don't turn into some kind of killer?"

"I never said that." Dean said.

"Jeez, if you're not careful you will have to waste me one day, Dean." Sam said.

"I never said that! Damnit, Sam, this whole thing is spinning out of control. All right? You're immune to some weirdo demon virus, and I don't even know what the hell any more. And you're pissed at me, I get it. That's fine, I deserve it. But we lay low until we figure out our next move, okay?" Dean said, looking at his brother frantically.

"Forget it." Sam said.

"God you can be a selfish son of a bitch sometimes Sam," I muttered, shaking my head. Sam turned to stare at me.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"You heard me." I said, standing a little taller, looking at him. "You think any of this has been easy on us? And now we're just asking for a little time. In case you hadn't noticed Sam, we kind of have a whole lot of stuff to deal with that's unexpected and unplanned, not just you. All we're asking for is a little damn time to get our head around things, I don't think it's too much to ask!"

Sam frowned at me and started to open his mouth to speak again.

"Sam, please, man. Hey, please." Dean said, looking at Sam, his arm wrapped tightly around me. "Just give us some time. Give us some time to think, okay? I'm begging you here, please. Please."

Sam nodded reluctantly, looking over at me with a sad expression. I knew it, I knew I didn't have to say it but god it just pissed me off that sometimes it was all about Sam, and what Sam wanted, and what Sam needed. How about listening to his brother and sister for a change? Dean had spent his whole life looking after him, I'd spent a good decade doing it, a little common courtesy was all we were asking as we came to grips with life, and the change coming our way. I didn't think we were asking too much.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Until the End _by Breaking Benjamin

* * *

Many thanks to EarthhAngel for her wonderful beta reading and feedback; and also the great lines where Sam and Dean find out about Beth's "condition" :)

* * *

I watched _The Heat _last night with Sandra Bullock, OMG talk about funny. I think I laughed the whole way through it. I actually thought about doing a fanfic with Dean and Beth as the main characters, sort of a cross-over. Which then gave me the idea of doing it for the new Pacific Rim movie coming out if it ends up being any good (go the big Mech Warrior things!) … and THEN MsRahvin's review got me thinking. OMG I have to do it, I'm going to have to write a fan fic cross-over for _The Princess Bride _substituting Wesley and Buttercup for Dean and Beth. It won't be happening any time soon though – I just have to voice it here so I can remember it when I get around to it. ...there's still 6.5 more seasons to write yet! When I have no more SPN storyline, then I'll start cross overs LOL

* * *

Hope you liked this episode. For a reasonably event less episode it sure ended up long, hope I didn't bore you to pieces!

* * *

I'm away doing a girl's night out thing for tomorrow night, so will be a few days for an update – in the meantime – go read your favourite episode, then tell me why you like it so much! :D


	11. Hunted

_I took a walk around the world  
To ease my troubled mind  
I left my body lying somewhere  
In the sands of time_

_I watched the world float_  
_To the dark side of the moon_  
_After all I knew it had to be_  
_Something to do with you_  
_I really don't mind what happens now and then_  
_As long as you'll be my friend at the end_

_You called me strong, you called me weak,_  
_But still your secrets I will keep_  
_You took for granted all the times_  
_I never let you down_  
_You stumbled in and bumped your head,_  
_If not for me then you'd be dead_  
_I picked you up and put you back on solid ground_

_If I go crazy then will you still_  
_Call me Superman_  
_If I'm alive and well,_  
_Will you be there a-holding my hand_  
_I'll keep you by my side_  
_With my superhuman might_  
_Kryptonite_

* * *

**HUNTED**

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

**Motel Room  
Billings, Montana**

It had been a few days since Dean and Beth's confession about what Dad had told them before he died. I was still struggling to get my head around it, to understand how Dad could think I would go bad to the point that Dean would have to be forced to put me down.

I sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the couple before me. It was still odd to me sometimes, watching them together. Odd to see my pain in the ass big brother find this place of vulnerability with someone. He didn't like to show it overly often, but it had been coming out more and more since Dad went missing, and then even more so now he was dead. Of course, the more I thought about it, as kids he'd always had a soft spot for Beth, when he wasn't trying to kill her anyway.

Dean had his arm wrapped tightly around Beth's waist and they were both sound asleep. They looked peaceful for a change, a big change in them. I knew their sleep habits, between them they had as many nightmares as I did. It was a side effect of the job, something we all struggled with. I think they got the worst of it because they often woke the other one up, so it was almost like they were having continuous nightmares some nights.

I only knew this because I was often awake from my own monsters inside my head, and I would see the way Beth would turn over and cuddle up to Dean if he startled awake, or vice versa. They never talked about it, which amazed me, it was almost like they had some sort of telepathic thing going on, or maybe they were just so stubborn they didn't want to admit they had problems – might have to deal with them then, which is something they preferred not to do.

I sighed. I wanted to give them the time they'd asked for. But there was an urgency burning inside me, I had to know what Dad had meant. I wasn't going to find the answer sitting here, or going on road trips to the Grand Canyon. I felt sad, but it was time, clearly I needed to go out on my own now. Dean and Beth had enough problems what with the baby on the way, that they didn't need me holding them back.

My packed bag was sitting by the door and I looked at it, weighing up all my options once more. Beth shifted in her sleep, rolling on to her back, a slight smile at her mouth as she rolled into Dean, nuzzling her nose under his chin. His arm instinctively tightened around her, accommodating the new position and for some reason, seeing this just strengthened my resolve. They needed time without me, to adjust to their new life, the new life that was coming into their world. I had to go and figure this one out on my own.

Quietly I stood up and cast one more look at my brother and sister in the bed before me, a sad smile playing across my mouth. Then I crossed the room, grabbing my bag, and sneaking out the door into the rain. I ignored the Impala before me, and wandered down about four cars from the room. I picked an inconspicuous car and broke in to it, by morning I'd be in another state and they'd have a heck of a time following me. I cast one more look back at the motel room where I'd just left Dean and Beth, hesitating for just a moment, and then set my resolve. I had to go, I had to give them a chance to figure things out on their own.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Next morning**

It had rained all night and it sounded heavenly, lulling us into a deep sleep. Three days had passed since the incident with the virus and we were no closer to figuring out any answers. Sam was frustrated and angry with us, Dean and I were confused about where to go with the news of the baby.

Dean was snuggled in behind me, curled to meet the curve of my body as I lay in bed, quietly staring at the sun starting to come in through the crack in the curtains. His arm was wrapped around me and absently stroked across my stomach before pulling me tightly against him.

"Morning..." Dean mumbled, his breath whispering against my ear. I shivered a little as it brushed against me, and then turned slightly to look back him.

"Hey," I said with a smile.

"How'd you sleep?" He asked, stirring against me.

"Great...you?" I said, twisting in his arms so I could look at him, kissing him lightly.

"Good," he said, nodding with a smile. I looked at those big hazel eyes watching me and smiled back. It was nice to wake up, nowhere to go, nothing to do, and just relax for a change, it had been a habit once, because we were so busy having nightmares at night that neither of us slept until we saw the sun rise, we were usually exhausted by morning. Last night there had been no nightmares, the rain keeping them at bay perhaps, who knew.

I looked around the room and noticed something... or someone... was missing.

I frowned and sat up a little bit, Dean groaning quietly. "Where's Sam?" I said, glancing back at him. Dean sat up and looked around too. All Sam's things were gone, and his bed looked like it hadn't been slept in. An unsettled feeling started to sink into my stomach. He was gone, apparently three days had been all our younger brother was willing to give us to figure out where we stood with things. He was gone.

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

**Harvelle's Roadhouse, ****Nebraska**

The roadhouse was the same old hive of activity when I reached there. I pushed the door open and stepped into the darkened bar, the only lighting in the place was from the windows, where the late afternoon light was filtering through.

Ellen looked up when I came in, she was drying glasses behind the bar. She gave me an appraising look and I shrugged, walking up to her.

"Hey, Ellen." I said, smiling at her. She just looked at me, not answering. "You don't seem that surprised to see me," I said finally, just trying to break the silence.

"Well, your brother's been calling, worried sick, looking for you," Ellen said, watching me as she put a glass down and picked up another.

"Yeah. Figured he might," I said to her, nodding.

"What's going on between you guys?" She said, looking a little concerned. I glanced down at the floor, sighing and staring at my feet for a little bit. When I looked back up I made it clear I didn't want to talk about it. I looked around for the usual presence of a bright and bubbly girl waiting on tables, but she wasn't there.

"So, um, how's Jo?" I said, changing the subject.

Ellen nodded, acknowledging my not so subtle change of topic, she glanced down at her hands and then up at me again. "Well, I don't really know," she answered.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking around for Jo again.

"Well, I haven't seen her in weeks. She sends a postcard now and again," Ellen said to me, stacking the glasses behind the bar.

"Well, what happened?" I asked, sitting down at the bar.

"Well, after that visit from you guys last she decided she wanted to get into hunting. I said 'not under my roof', and she said 'fine"." Ellen said, putting a hand on her hip and looking at me.

I frowned, worried about Jo and her disillusioned ideas about being a hunter. She'd really gotten a bee in her bonnet about hunting when she met us. I was sure it'd been there before that, but seeing people her own age, out there and doing the job- it had just driven her to want to do it. I was also fairly sure she thought it would impress Dean, which of course, it wouldn't – but she didn't know that, and she had a really strong crush on him.

The last time we'd been to the roadhouse Ellen and Jo had been fighting about her getting into the hunting life, she had used Beth as an example that young women could do the job, and do it well. Beth had nearly died, pointing out that things were a little different – she had always had us or Dad around to watch her back. Jo hadn't been impressed with her siding with Ellen, and then there was the fact that Dean had sided with Beth.

Ellen in her frustration had let slip that Dad had gotten her husband killed on a job, he'd screwed up and it got the man killed. That's why we hadn't been back to the Roadhouse in a while, we were avoiding Ellen, not sure how things would be between us. Jo hadn't talked to any of us since then.

"So... I'm probably the last person you want to see right now," I said with a grimace.

Ellen chuckled, watching me. "Oh don't get me wrong. I wish I could blame the hell out of you kids. It'd be easier. Truth is, it's not your fault, Sam. None of it is. I want you to know I forgave your daddy a long time ago for what happened to my Bill. I just don't think he ever forgave himself."

"What did happen?" I asked, dying to know. But she changed the subject.

"Um, so, why did you come here, sweetie?" Ellen asked, looking at me.

I looked down and then back up at her. "I need help," I said.

A short time later Ash was standing in front of me, looking as bedraggled as he always did, his ridiculous mullet sweeping over his shoulders. He was trying to grow a beard, I think, and was running his fingers across his chin along the stubble there.

"What am I looking for, Sam?" Ash asked me, a slight frown on his face.

"Other people," I said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was listening in. "other psychics, like me. As many as possible, and I need a nationwide search."

Ellen frowned, looking at me. "But I thought there was no way to track them all down. Not all of them had nursery fires like you did."

"Well, no, but some had to," I said, looking over at Ash. "Start there."

I'd barely gotten through my beer when Ash came striding into the bar from the back room, looking pleased with himself. He had a piece paper in his hand and he waved it around with a flourish.

"Done, and done," he said, sitting down on the stool next to me.

"That was fast," I said, looking at him surprised.

"Well, apparently that's my job," Ash said sarcastically, looking over at Ellen. "Make the monkey dance at the keyboard."

Ellen rolled her eyes at him. "Just tell us what you got, Ash."

"Four folks fit the profile nationwide," Ash said, turning to Ellen and resting his elbows on the bar. "Sam Winchester from Lawrence, Kansas; Max Miller from Saginaw, Michigan; Andrew Gallagher from Guthrie, Oklahoma, and uh, another name. Scott Carey."

I frowned, looking at him. "You got an address?"

"Kind of. The Arbor Hill Cemetery in Lafayette, Indiana. Plot four-eighty-six." Ash said, I sighed. Not the news I'd been hoping for.

"So he's dead?" I asked, clarifying.

"Killed, about a month ago," Ash said with a nod.

"Killed how?" I asked.

"Stabbed," Ash said, looking at me. "Parking lot. Fuzz don't have much, no suspects."

I thought about this, taking another sip of my beer. Maybe there'd still be information if I were to check it out. At any rate, I didn't have anything else to go on.

"All right," I said, nodding to myself. "Thank you." I stood up to leave and Ash slapped me on the back. As I walked away I saw Ash pick up my half-finished beer and start drinking it, the man was a serious alcoholic, he needed to get some help.

"Where are you going?" Ellen asked me, walking along the length of the bar, following me as I headed for the door.

"Indiana," I said, still walking.

"Sam? I've gotta call Dean and Beth. I've gotta let them know where you are," she said, hand back on her hip as she frowned at me.

I stopped, looking back with a sigh.

"Ellen. I'm trying to find answers, about who I am," I said, trying to find the words. "Dean and Beth mean well, but they can't protect me from that." I wanted to tell her about the baby, maybe it would stop her from calling them, give her pause to think, but I held my tongue.

Ellen looked thoughtfully at me, considering what I'd said.

"Please," I said to her, willing her to understand. She nodded reluctantly at me and I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that I didn't have to play the baby card. I cast one more glance around the bar, it was strange not seeing Jo there, hustling some hunter for his cash, or sweeping the floors to the sounds of the jukebox.

I smirked, thinking about the girl and her misguided crush on my brother, man she was going to freak when she found out about Beth's pregnancy, I'd almost pay to be around for that little announcement.

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

**Scott Carey's House  
Lafayette, Indiana**

Scott's father looked devastated at the loss of his son, sitting in the chair opposite me. He was unshaven, and looked like he hadn't slept in some time.

"So you say you went to high school with Scott?" He asked me, turning tired eyes to me.

"Uh, yes sir, I did. I just heard about what happened, I'm sorry," I said, giving him my best sympathetic look, the one that Beth called my puppy-dog stare.

Mr Carey nodded at me. "Scotty was a good boy. He changed a lot since you knew him."

I frowned, curious at this statement. "What do you mean?" I asked the man.

"It started about a year ago with these headaches. And then he got depressed, paranoid, nightmares," Mr Carey said to me.

"Nightmares?" I asked, surprised. "Um, did he ever talk to you about his nightmares? What he saw... or...?"

"No, no. He closed up with me," Mr Carey said sadly. "I tried to get him help, but nothing took. He'd just lock himself in his room for days."

I decided to press my luck, it was amazing what people would do when they were grieving.

"You think maybe I could see his room?" I asked the man, after a moment he nodded and showed me the way.

The room looked like it had been untouched, he obviously hadn't wanted to deal with the extra grief of having to sort through it. I looked around once inside, Mr Carey leaving me alone. It looked like a normal, every day bedroom. One we'd never had growing up: we grew up in motel rooms with maps, arcane symbols, photos of creatures and dead people stuck all over the walls. I shook my head just thinking about it.

It made me worry for Dean and Beth, and the little life they would now have to protect. Would they bring it into the hunting life? Hard to say with those two... they were so committed to it, Dad expecting nothing less from them both. But they were used to taking orders, and Dad wasn't here now to give them any – I found myself hoping they'd give it all up, start a normal life and give that child a chance we'd never been given. I turned my thoughts back to the job at hand.

There had to be something in this room that could give me some insight into Scott's head. There were several bottles of pills on the bedside table, they were prescribed by a doctor, I pocketed one of them so that I could follow that up later. I was drawn to the closet, it was the only thing left, at first it looked normal just like everything else, clothes hanging neatly from hangers, but then something yellow caught my eye.

I shoved the clothes aside and caught my breath at what I was looking at. Eyes, yellow eyes in all kinds of forms – photos, pictures, drawings. Cut out and stuck to the wall. It was all the confirmation I needed, I was on the right path.

* * *

**_Sam's POV_  
**

**Motel**

Half an hour later I was back at the motel, I was on foot as I'd dumped the stolen car earlier in the day to avoid detection. I was putting the key in the motel room door when I sensed someone behind me. They'd done a sloppy job of hiding the fact that they were following me. I hesitated at the door until they got closer, and then I spun, grabbing them by the upper arms and pushing them against the wall.

"Who are you?" I asked sternly. The person in front of me was a young woman, straight shoulder-length brown hair and big blue eyes.

"Please!" She gasped, looking frightened at me. "You're in danger." I relaxed my grip on her and took a step back. Danger? What the hell was she talking about?

I showed her into the motel room and stood leaning against the counter which housed the TV, watching as she paced along the floor in front of the kitchenette area. We'd been talking for about fifteen minutes and I was slightly worried she was going to have a panic attack if I didn't get her calmed down soon.

"OK, look, I know how all this sounds, but I am not insane and I am not on drugs. Ok? I am normal, and this is way, way off the map for me," the girl said to me, I raised my eyebrow at her.

"All right, all right," I said, trying to settle her down. "Just, just calm down, ok? What's your name?"

"Ava," she answered, looking at me.

"Ava?" I asked, checking.

"Ava Wilson," she confirmed and I nodded.

"Ava, I'm Sam Winchester, all right?" She nodded anxiously at me, stopping and standing still. "Now, you were telling me about these dreams of yours?"

"Uh, yeah, uh, okay, about a year ago I started having these, like, headaches, and just, nightmares, I guess. And I really didn't think much of it until I had this one dream where I saw this guy get stabbed in a parking lot," Ava said, looking at me, the comment caught my attention.

"When was this?" I asked, my heart starting to race a little.

"Uh, about a month ago. But, anyway, a couple of days later, I found this," she said, pulling out a newspaper article which read _Local Man Stabbed to Death In Parking Lot. _Next to it was a picture of Scott Carey. I took the clipping and stared at it, the reality of my situation starting to sink in.

"I saw this guy die, days before it happened. I don't know why, I don't know, it's just for some reason, my dreams are coming true. And last night I had another one," she said, looking at me worried.

"OK?" I asked, watching her intently.

"About you," she said softly, looking up at me. "I saw you die!"

I paused, thinking about what she had said. It was a lot to take in. "How did you find me?" I said quietly, looking at her.

"Oh, uh, you had motel stationary, and I Googled the motel, and it was real, and so I just thought that I should warn you," she said, and I thought about how resourceful that was, it was the same way I found locations for the visions I had.

I huffed, shaking my head. "I don't believe this," I whispered.

"Oh, oh, of course you don't. You think I'm a total nut job," Ava said, throwing her arms in the air and walking away from me.

"Wait, no, no, no, I mean, you must be one of us," I said, shaking my head at her.

"Sorry, one of, one of who?" Ava asked, looking confused.

"One of the Psychics. Like me. Look, Ava, I have visions too, all right? So we're connected." I said, looking at her, I was amazed, here was another one of us, like me and Andy... alive and well, and apparently not trying to kill anyone.

Ava laughed, nodding at me. "Huh, ok, so... you're nuts. That's... great..." she said, shaking her head.

"OK, ok, look." I said, trying to reason with her. "Did your mother happen to die in a house fire?"

"No! My mother lives in Palm Beach!" Ava said with a laugh.

I frowned, so she was one of those ones. "So you don't fit the pattern either." Just like Ansen.

Ava looked at me in confusion, genuinely having no idea what I was talking about. Things had just gotten a whole lot more interesting, and confusing at the same time.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

Nothing made Dean pull over faster than impending vomit. I swear we'd just skidded to a stop doing sixty-five miles an hour, and he had the door open and was shoving me out before we even came to a complete halt.

Once the upholstery was safe, Dean got out of the car and came around to take my hair in his hands, holding it out of my face as I watched the entire contents of my stomach empty out down the embankment before me. I groaned, waiting to see if that was it and Dean grimaced at me.

"That Chinese must have been bad..." I joked about the dinner we'd had at Bobby's earlier, raising an eyebrow at him. He snorted and chuckled at me.

"Uh-huh, yeah that'd be what it was," he agreed, letting go of my hair as I sat up, he reached in through the open window to grab my bottle of water from the car seat, uncapping it and handing it to me with a sympathetic look.

I washed out my mouth with a big gulp of water and then took a drink, it was soothing to my throat. Sighing, I looked up at him.

"I thought this was meant to be a morning thing," I complained.

"Appears not," he said, inclining his head and then helping me to stand up. He pulled me in for a hug and I rested my head on his firm chest for a moment, enjoying the comfort. It was pitch black around us except for the lights from the Impala, we'd been on the road for the last day looking for Sam, we were almost to Sioux City, Iowa, having called in on Bobby earlier. We were getting ready to find a motel for the night before we headed south to Nebraska, and the Roadhouse, trying to trace Sam's steps, but not really having much success.

"Never thought I'd get car sick..." I muttered, "I practically live in that car."

Dean sighed. "Yeah...going to make for some long drives if this keeps up," he said thoughtfully. I didn't even want to think about it, what a disaster, as if the nausea hadn't been bad enough, now I was hungry again, but too scared to eat anything.

Dean's phone started ringing and he hurried to answer it.

"Hello?" He said, when he heard who he was he switched it to speaker phone so I could listen, holding the phone between us.

"Hey, have you heard from Sam?" Dean asked.

"_I have," _Ellen's voice came over the speaker, "_but he made me promise not to tell you where he is." _

"Come on Ellen, please. Something bad could be going on here, and we swore we'd look after that kid." Dean said, irritated.

"_Now Dean, they say you can't protect your loved ones forever." _Ellen said, and we both exchanged a frustrated glance, rolling our eyes. _"Well I say screw that. What else is family for? He's in Lafayette, Indiana." _Dean sighed with relief and nodded at me.

"Thanks Ellen," I said with a smile, and Dean hung up the phone. I looked at the car with a grimace and hoped that this was the last time we'd be pulling over for a while. I calculated, it was going to be at least a nine hour drive, and I didn't think Dean would be stopping until we hit Lafayette.

* * *

_**Sam's POV  
**_

**Motel Room**

Ava was looking anxiously at me. "Why can't you just leave town? Please? Before you blow up?!"

"No, I can't," I said quietly.

"Oh, god. Why not?" Ava said, sighing and rolling her eyes.

"Because there's something going on here, Ava. With you, with me. I mean, there are others like us out there. And we're all a part of something, and I've got to figure out what." I paused and wondering if this is what Beth meant when she said I was being a stubborn ass and not flexible. I shrugged it off, wasn't like Beth could talk about being stubborn, it was like the pot calling the kettle black.

"Okay. you know what? Screw you, buddy. Okay? Because I'm a secretary from Peoria and I'm not part of anything! Okay? Do you see this?" She stood up and held out her hand and showed me a diamond ring on her finger. "I am getting _married _in eight weeks. I am supposed to be at home addressing invitations, which I am way behind on, by the way. But instead, I drove out here to save your weirdo ass. But if you just want to stay here and die, fine. Me? I'm due back on Planet Earth." She grabbed her purse and started walking for the door. I turned to watch her go.

"Don't you want to know why this is happening? I mean, don't these visions scare the hell out of you?" She paused, and I knew I had gotten to her. "Because if you walk out that door right now you might never know the truth. I need your help." I was sorry to say it, because she seemed like a nice girl, and what we were messed up in was … well... messy, and I didn't want to see her get harmed, but she was the best lead I had, and finding out what was going on with us, might just be easier with us both working the job together.

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

**Dr. Waxler's Office**

I booked Ava in for a therapy session with the same doctor Scott had been seeing. I got the name from the pill bottle I'd snatched from his bedroom. Right now she was sitting in his office, chattering away anxiously. She didn't have to fake it, she was the most skittish, highly-strung people I'd met in a long time.

Maybe she was normal, and this is what tossing normal people into a surreal situation did to them. I wouldn't know, my life had hardly been normal growing up, I didn't know any other life than hunting and dealing with this kind of stress.

I was crouched on the window sill outside, a three storey drop to the ground below. Ava saw me passing the window of the room she was in and exclaimed in surprise. I panicked and quickly stepped back away from the glass, startling some pigeons who were roosting on the ledge. I waited for Ava's incessant chatter to begin again, casting a cautious look inside. The doctor's head was turned away from me however, he was totally engrossed in whatever nonsense Ava was spilling to him.

I slid open the window to the room next door, and slipped inside. There were filing cabinets against the wall all lined up. It took no time at all to pick the lock, and within minutes I had Scott Carey's private and confidential client file within my hands. Sticking it under my jacket, I secured it so that I could have my hands free as I got back out on the ledge. Ava saw me leaving, this time not reacting to seeing me on the ledge. I got back to the fire escape and headed down to wait for her session to end.

When we got back to the motel room Ava was looking a little stunned.

"Are you ok?" I asked, concerned that maybe I might have pushed her a little far.

"Am I ok?" She asked, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Yeah?" I said, watching her.

"I just helped you steal some dead guy's confidential psych files," she said seriously, and then her lip twitched. "I'm awesome!" She said excitedly. I chuckled, this girl was seriously strange, she kind of reminded me of what Beth had been like when Dad first took her in, everything was all new to her, and she was always excited to be learning new things, doing odd stuff.

I sorted through some of Scott's files, and then struck pay dirt. Voice files, Dr Waxler voice recorded his sessions. I grabbed my tape player from my bag, and put the little tape into it, starting the recording. A young man's voice started over the speaker.

"_It started a little over a year ago. Migraines, at first. Then I found I could do... stuff." _There was a pause and then the doctor voice a question.

"_What do you mean stuff?" _

"_I have this ability. When I touch something, I can electrocute it if I want." _I looked up at Ava surprised. This was a new ability I hadn't seen yet.

I fast forwarded the tape a little, anxious to get to the bulk of the session.

Waxler's voice sounded again. _"__What else does the yellow-eyed man say?"_

"_He has plans for me. He says there's a war coming. That people like me, we're going to be the soldiers. Every thing's about to change." _Scott's voice stopped and the recording finished, apparently that was all there was to the tape.

"He's not talking about us, right?" Ava asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I think he is," I said quietly, thoughtfully.

"But how can we turn into that?" Ava said with a frown.

"I don't..." my answer was cut short by the sound of breaking glass as the window behind us shattered. I dove to the floor, taking Ava with me, covering her with my own body.

"Get down!" I said urgently to her.

"Oh my god!" She cried out, clearly shocked. "What's happening?"

"I don't know." I said, looking around. I had to get to my bag, where my gun was. Someone was shooting at us, or at least it appeared that way, and I had no idea who it would be or why.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Outside Motel  
Lafayette, Indiana**

The nausea and vomiting had subsided for the time being and I was grateful for that. We'd been to a few motels, not finding Sam yet, this was our fourth try. Dean eased the Impala into the parking lot and we got out to walk along the length of the motel. It felt good to stretch my legs.

"There," I said, pointing to a window, glimpsing our little brother.

"Oh, thank god you're ok," Dean muttered, looking where I'd pointed, relieved to see Sam safe and sound.

We watched Sam move away from the window, and spotted a young woman with him. Dean chuckled and looked back at me.

"Oh, he's better than ok..." he said, turning back to look at the room. "Sam you sly dog!"

I smirked and shook my head, it didn't exactly seem Sam's style, but then, he hadn't really been himself lately either.

Suddenly the window we were looking at shattered and we jumped, not expecting it. In an instance Dean was running for the rooftop of the building opposite Sam. He was half way up the fire escape before I'd even got to the bottom. I pulled myself up after him as Dean disappeared over the ledge of the building.

"Gordon!" I head him yell and I panicked, scrambling to get up to the roof.

I looked over the ledge, wishing we'd had a chance to grab guns, but we'd left them in the car when we got out to look around.

Dean was on top of Gordon Walker, right at the edge of the building, hitting him over and over again in the face. He grabbed Gordon by the collar as I approached them.

"You do that to my brother, I'll kill you!" Dean yelled at him.

Gordon put a hand up. "Dean, wait," he said. Dean ignored him, punching him a few more times, then Gordon got in a back hand, knocking Dean off him. He was able to grab his rifle and I watched in horror as he slammed it into Dean's face, knocking him to the ground. He spun the rifle to face me and I stopped short.

"Don't move Beth," he growled at me and I gulped, raising my hands in the air. What the hell was going on here?

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

Ava followed me up on to the roof opposite the motel room. I'd waited until the shots had stopped firing before deciding to investigate.

"Wait, I don't understand." Ava said from behind me. "Shouldn't we be talking to the cops?"

"Trust me, that wouldn't do us much good," I said, squatting down and picking up a bullet casing on the ground. "These are .223 calibre. Subsonic rounds. The guy must have put a suppressor on the rifle," I said thoughtfully. He was a professional, someone who knew what they were doing.

"Dude, who are you?" Ava asked, gaping at my comments.

"Oh. I just, uh, I just watch a lot of TJ Hooker," I said, making up some excuse as to why I would know this stuff. No need to completely scare the girl. I stood up again, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I hated to admit it, but I needed help on this.

"Who are you calling?" Ava asked.

"My brother and sister," I said, selecting Dean's number from the contacts list. "I think we definitely need help."

Dean answered the phone on the fourth ring, but he sounded guarded, not nearly as pissed off as he should be given that I'd just taken off two days ago and not let him or Beth know where I was.

_"Hello?" _He said.

"Dean!" I said, still happy to hear his voice.

"_Sam, we've been looking for you," _Dean said, all business, I kept waiting for the lecture, but it didn't come.

"Yeah. Look, I'm in Indiana, uh Lafayette." I said to him, wondering just what was going through my brother's head, maybe I really had gone too far this time and he wasn't actually talking to me. But that was ridiculous, he'd picked up the phone.

"_I know," _Dean said, and I listened, surprised.

"You do?" I asked, confused.

"_Yeah, We talked to Ellen. Just got here ourselves. It's a real funky town." _My heart stopped at the sentence, something was seriously wrong now._ "You ditched us, Sammy."_ Dean added, sounding a little annoyed.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "Look, right now there's someone after me," I continued.

"_What? Who?"_ Dean asked.

"I don't know, that's what we need to find out. Where are you guys?" I asked, prompting for more information, and why wasn't Beth talking in the background, or on speaker phone? Dean usually always put her on speaker, especially when he was pissed, it was a dead giveaway something was wrong.

"_We're staying at, uh, 5637 Monroe Street, why don't you meet us here?" _Dean asked.

"Yeah, sure." I said, hanging up without waiting for an answer. I turned to Ava with a worried look.

"What is it?" Ava asked, seeing the look on my face.

"They're in trouble," I said pulling a notepad and pen out of my jacket and writing down the address Dean had just given me.

"He gave me a code word, someone's got a gun on them," I said, thinking about my options. He'd said 'us' so that meant that Beth was with him, which presented double the danger. No point in calling her to verify, it'd probably ring to voicemail now their captor knew I had the address.

"Codeword?" Ava asked, looking incredulous.

"Yeah. Funky town." I said with a shrug. She stared at me as if she didn't quite believe me. "Well, they thought of it... it's kind of a... long story. Uh, come on." I gave up trying to explain. I had to get to Dean and Beth, it was all my fault, again, that they were in trouble. It was always my fault, Dean had been looking after me since he was four years old and he still was, and all I did was bring pain and misery to their lives.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

Gordon hung up from the phone call with Sam, pulling the phone away from Dean's ear.

"Now," Gordon said, looking down at Dean who was tied to a chair, just like me. "Was that so hard?"

Dean turned to glare at Gordon with hatred in his eyes. "Bite me," he said. Gordon just laughed and walked over to a table nearby. Dean looked over at me, giving me a worried look.

"You ok?" He asked quietly and I nodded.

"She's fine! She had the good sense not to try and beat the hell out of me," Gordon said, waving a hand at me. "Of course, I might have welcomed the excuse to knock her out, given the position she left me in, when last I saw you." Gordon rubbed his jaw where I'd punched him all those months ago. I kind of hoped he wouldn't try and repeat the process here, now that our roles were reversed.

Gordon had his back to Dean, but I could see a little of what he was up to. He had opened up a bag on the table and was pulling out different weapons.

"So Gordy," Dean said, "I know we aren't exactly your favourite people, but don't you think this is a little extreme?"

Gordon turned to face Dean, a surprised look on his face.

"What, you think this is revenge?" Gordon asked him, his dark eyes looking just as crazy as they did the last time we'd seen him.

"Well, we did leave you tied up in your own mess for three days," I quipped, raising my eyebrow at him.

Dean laughed. "Which was awesome." He paused when Gordon started to stare at him coldly. "Sorry, I shouldn't laugh." I shook my head at him, that might be pushing it a little.

"Yeah," Gordon said thoughtfully. "I was definitely planning on whuppin' your ass for that," he said, and he paused to look over at me too. Dean frowned at the look.

"Mm-hmmm." Dean said, drawing Gordon's attention back to him.

"But that's not what this is. This isn't personal. I'm not a killer Dean. I'm a hunter. And your brother's fair game." Gordon had been fingering a knife and when he said that last sentence, he slammed a knife into its sheath. Dean and I exchanged a shocked look – fair game? What on earth was he talking about?

* * *

_**Sam's POV**_

"I don't think I should leave," Ava said as I walked her to her car.

"I want you out of harm's way, Ava." I said, not taking no for an answer, I wasn't going to be responsible for her safety, not when I had Dean and Beth to consider, and they would always, always take priority over anyone else.

"What about you?" Ava asked, turning to face me.

"Harm's way doesn't really both me," I said, frowning.

"No, but you are walking right into my vision. I mean, this is how you die," Ava said, looking distressed.

"Doesn't matter, it's my brother and sister," I said, shrugging.

"Maybe I could help!" Ava said hopefully and I smiled at her.

"You've done all you can," I said, turning my best grateful look on her. "Just, just go back to your fiancée."

"Are you sure?" Ava asked, disappointed as I opened her car door and ushered her toward it.

"Yes, I'm sure. Go home, Ava. You'll be safe there." I said to her. She got into the car and I shut the door for her. She looked out at me through the open window.

"Well, just, promise me you'll call, then. I mean, when you get your brother and sister, just to let me know that every thing's all right." Ava said, looking at me worried.

"I promise," I said, trying to keep the troubled look off my face.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

Gordon was sitting on a bench, cradling his rifle and speaking to Dean. I was feeling nauseous again, but I fought it down, now really wasn't a good time to ask to go to the bathroom, especially given that we'd left Gordon tied up in his own crap for three days last we'd seen him.

"See, I was doing an exorcism down in Louisiana. Teenage girl, seemed routine, some low-level demon. But between all the jabbering and the head-spinning, the damn thing muttered something. About a coming war. And I don't think it meant to, it just kind of slipped out. But it was too late. Piqued my interest. And you can _really_ make a demon talk, you got the right tools." Gordon sounded proud of himself, like torturing some poor girl was something to put on your resume.

"What happened to the girl it was possessing?" Dean asked, looking over at me, anger simmering in his eyes.

"She didn't make it," Gordon answered levelly.

"You're a son of a bitch," I muttered angrily, glaring at him.

Gordon looked over at me, standing and walking over to me. He watched my face for a moment and then slapped me, hard, across the cheek.

"Hey!" Dean shouted at him, but Gordon paid no attention.

"That's my momma you're talking about," Gordon said to me, I swallowed and thought better about spitting at him, best not to aggravate him.

"Anyway," Gordon said, turning back to Dean, standing between the pair of us. "This demon tells me there are soldiers to fight in this coming war. Humans, fighting on hell's side. You believe that? I mean, they're psychics, so they're not exactly pure humans, but still. What kind of worthless scum-bag have you got to be to turn against your own race?"

Dean glared at Gordon but said nothing.

"But you know the biggest kick in the ass? This demon said I knew one of them. Our very own Sammy Winchester." Gordon looked over at me but I kept my expression level. Dean chuckled at him.

"Oh, this is a whole new level of moronic, even for you." Dean said, playing it casual.

"Yeah? Come on, Dean. I know. About Sam's visions. I know everything." Gordon said.

"Really? Because a demon told you?" Dean asked chuckling again.

I smirked at Gordon. "Yeah, and it wasn't lying..." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Hey. I'm not some reckless yahoo, okay? I did my homework. Made damn sure it was true. Look, you've got your Roadhouse connections, I got mine. It's how I found Sammy in the first place." Dean exchanged a worried look with me as Gordon crossed to a chair and sat down again, looking back at the pair of us. "About a month ago I found another one of these freaks here in town. He could deep-fry a person just by touching them."

"Yeah, did he kill anyone?" Dean asked, frowning.

"Well, besides Mr. Tinkles the cat? No. But he was working up to it. They're all going to be killers, Dean. We've got to take them all out. And that means Sammy too." Gordon cocked his rifle as he said this and I grimaced, he was stark raving mad and we were all sitting ducks.

"You think Sam's stupid enough to walk through that front door?" I asked, staring at him.

"No, I don't. Especially since I'm sure you found a way to warn him. Ha. You really think I'm that stupid?" Gordon said, I raised my eyebrow at that statement, looking over at Dean who was smirking. I wasn't going to answer that question. Gordon stood up again, going to a window and looking out.

"No. Sammy's going to scope the place, see me covering the front door, so he's going to take the back. And when he does he'll hit the tripwire. Then..." he took a grenade out of his bag, showing it to us. "Boom!"

Dean shook his head. "Sam's not gonna fall for a friggin' trip wire."

"Maybe you're right. That's why I'll have a second one." Gordon said, taking another grenade out of his bag and walking up to Dean.

"Hey, look. I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this, I really do. But for what it's worth, it'll be quick." Gordon said.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

Gordon had gone about setting up his tripwires while Dean and I tried to quietly discuss getting out of here. Gordon had moved us a little closer together, we were side by side now, firmly tied to the chairs, there was no wriggling out. While most people seemed to underestimate me because of my size and being a woman, Gordon had gone the other route – the ropes were tied so tightly around my wrists, I was starting to feel my hands and feet go numb.

I grimaced and shook my head. "Dammit, we're in trouble Dean."

"It'll be ok, Sam's not an idiot, he'll figure something out," Dean said, and then he fell silent as Gordon came back into the room to straddle a chair and look over at us again.

"Come on, man. I know Sam, better than anyone. He's got more of a conscience than I do, I mean, the guy feels guilty surfing the internet for porn." Dean said, trying to reason with Gordon.

"Maybe you're right. But one day he's going to be a monster," Gordon said fanatically.

"How?" I asked, glaring at him. "Huh? How's a guy like Sam become a monster?"

"Beats me. But he will," Gordon said.

"No, you don't know that!" Dean said loudly, angry.

"I'm surprised at you, Dean. Getting all emotional. I'd heard you were more of a professional than this." Dean shook his head at him, his jaw set in frustration.

"Look, let's say you were cruising around in that car of yours and, uh, you had Little Hitler riding shotgun, right? Back when he was just some goofy, crappy artist. But you knew what he was going to turn into someday. You'd take him out, no questions, am I right?"

"That's not Sam," I said, glaring at Gordon.

"Yes it is. You just can't see it yet, it's his destiny." Dean and I both fell silent, realising our arguments were falling on deaf ears, he wasn't going to come around. "Look," Gordon said, "I'm sympathetic. He's your brother, you both love the guy. This has got to hurt like hell for you." He reached down and took a couple of bandannas from his bag. He used the first one to gag Dean, who was glaring daggers at him, now having no choice but to be silent.

"But here's the thing," Gordon said, coming over to me and using the second bandanna to gag me. "It would wreck him. But your dad? If it really came right down to it, he would have had the stones to do the right thing here." Gordon paused to look Dean in the eye. "But you're telling me you're not the man he is?" Dean glared at him furiously. I took a deep breath in through my nose, trying not to panic.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

It wasn't long before we heard the tell-tale clicks of Sam picking the lock at the back of the house. Dean looked over at me frantically, and I tried to see what was happening.

"You hear him?" Gordon asked from his seat, listening. "Here he comes."

There was the distressing sound of the first grenade going off. Dean and I both flinched, it was much closer than expected. I started to wonder if Gordon planned to kill us too in this crazy scheme. Dean yelled at Gordon through the gag.

"Hold on," Gordon said in a calm steady voice, the voice of a psychopath. "Not yet. Just wait and see."

I held my breath, closing my eyes and praying. Praying to anyone who was listening to get us out of this situation alive. Dean yelled again and I gasped through the gag when the second explosion went off. Debris from went flying past us, some of it hitting me in the back. Dean struggled against his bonds, trying to forcefully get free of them, choking against the gag. I thought about Sam, and that explosion. Had he seen it in time? Was he...? Tears welled up in my eyes as I fought against my bonds.

Gordon stood up and crossed over to us. "Sorry Dean... Beth."

He went back into the room, his rifle at the ready. I twisted and choked back a sob at the sight of one of Sam's smoking boots on the ground. Gordon progressed into the room.

Then there was the sound of a gun cocking, and Sam's low voice, simmering with rage, sounded. "Drop the gun," he said to Gordon, who froze in place. I looked at Dean, tears streaming down my face, and Dean blinked, relieved.

"Shouldn't take your shoes off around here. You might get tetanus." Gordon said to Sam.

"Put it down now!" Sam yelled at him.

I saw Gordon lower his rifle to the floor, standing in the opening between the room beyond, and the one we were in.

Sam pushed Gordon ahead of him, a handgun held at his head, into the room we were in.

"You wouldn't shoot me would you Sammy?" Gordon asked, looking over at us. "Because your brother and sister here, think you're some kind of saint."

"Yeah?" Sam asked with a smirk. "Well, I wouldn't be so sure."

"See, that's what I said," Gordon said spinning suddenly and knocking the gun from Sam's hands. Gordon got in a few punches to Sam's face, then kicked him back against a wall, plaster fell when he hit it and Sam fell to the ground. Dean grunted against the gag, helpless. I watched in horror as Gordon advanced on Sam who was now lying flat on his back, coughing from the plaster in the air.

Gordon pulled out his knife and knelt beside Sam.

"You're no better than the filthy things you hunt," Gordon said to him, brandishing the knife above him. As Gordon raised the knife Sam intercepted his arm, flipping him over. He jumped to his feet, punching Gordon a couple of times before grabbing the rifle and pointing it at the man's head.

"Do it," Gordon said to Sam, looking over at me. "Do it! Show your sister and brother the killer you really are Sammy."

Sam hesitated, then his stance changed from attack to defence, and he slammed the butt of the rifle into Gordon's head, knocking him out.

"It's Sam," Sam muttered at him and I laughed at the comment through my gag.

Sam shuffled over to us, picking up the knife and cutting the bonds at Dean's wrists. Dean pulled his gag off while Sam untied his feet. Dean pulled Sam up to standing, checking him over. He cupped his hand around Sam's neck, staring at him, looking for something in Sam's eyes. Sam clasped a hand to Dean's shoulder and nodded.

I mumbled at them through the gag, reminding them that I was still tied up. Dean looked down at me and grabbed the knife, working away at the ropes. My hands were starting to turn blue they'd been tied so tight, and now that the blood was rushing back to them I started to feel the uncomfortable feeling of pins and needles coming into them – I rubbed them and Dean glanced down at them with a frown as he pulled my gag off and kissed me.

"Are you ok?" He asked and I nodded.

He turned his eyes to Gordon, standing up and walking over to him. "That son of a..."

"Dean," Sam interrupted. "No."

Dean looked back at Sam, he was calm and clear, the anger seemed to have faded once he knew Sam and I were all right. "I let him live once, I'm not making the same mistake twice." Dean said levelly.

"Trust me. Gordon's taken care of. Come on." Sam said. I frowned, and got to my feet with a grimace. My feet had pins and needles too.

"What do you mean Sammy?" I asked, taking a few tentative steps toward him, I could barely feel my feet to walk. Dean frowned and moved over to me, without another word he scooped me up in his arms effortlessly. I sighed and let him, I didn't feel like arguing – just for once I was going to go along with being a damsel in distress, it felt kind of nice occasionally, plus, my feet really didn't want to work right now anyway.

Sam watched this thoughtfully but didn't reply to me, instead he led the way out the front of the building.

Moments later I startled in Dean's arms as I saw Gordon emerge from the house, a gun in each hand.

"Dean!" I said and flinched as a bullet went flying past us. Dean started running for the trees, Sam behind us.

"Come on!" Dean said, diving into a ditch by the side of the road, dropping me beside him. "You call this taken care of?!" He said to Sam, eyes flashing angry.

Sam nodded and put a steadying hand on Dean. Dean looked over at me, suddenly worried. "What the hell are we doing?"

"Just trust me on this, all right?" Sam said and I took a deep breath, watching Gordon approach us. We were sitting ducks if something didn't happen soon.

Then as if like clockwork, three police cars appeared, sirens blaring. They surrounded Gordon, police emerging with their guns drawn.

"Drop your weapons, get down on your knees!" An officer said and I slumped against Dean in relief.

"Do it, now!" Someone else shouted.

We all grinned at each other as Gordon did as he was told, dropping to his knees.

One of the cops cuffed Gordon and patted him down, leading him to a squad car. Another officer went to Gordon's car and was looking around in the back seat. He pushed something and the hidden weapons rack pulled out.

"Anonymous tip," Sam said with a smirk.

"You're a fine upstanding citizen Sam Winchester," I said with a grin, shaking my head. And a nut case on top of it, I didn't want to think about what might have happened if those cops had taken just five more minutes to get here.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Outside the Motel**

Sam was inside getting his things. Dean had called Ellen and had the phone on speaker, both of us standing next to each other, talking to the woman.

"_Gordon Walker was hunting Sam?_" Ellen's voice came hushed over the line.

"Yeah, he almost killed all three of us because somebody over there can't keep their friggin' mouth shut," Dean said angrily.

"_And you honestly think it was me? Or Ash? Or Jo? No way." _Ellen responded. I had to admit, it didn't seem likely.

"Well who else knows about Sam? Huh? I mean you must have been talking to somebody," Dean said, pushing.

"_Hey, you can say a lot of things about us. But we are not disloyal. And we're not stupid. We haven't breathed a word of this." _Ellen said.

"Gordon said he had Roadhouse connections Ellen," Dean said.

"_And this roadhouse is full of other hunters. They're all smart. They're good trackers. Each of them with their own patterns and connections. Look, hell, I could name twelve of them right now that are capable of putting this together._" There was the sound of a sigh as Ellen paused. _"__I am sorry about what happened, guys. But I can't control these people. Or what they choose to believe."_

I nodded at Dean, she was right. We had been sloppy, someone, somewhere along the line had figured out what was going on, and we had to be careful, we couldn't trust anyone now.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Impala**

I was in the front seat right next to Dean, he had an arm draped casually around my shoulders and I leaned in to him, my head on his shoulder. Sam was sitting on the other side of me. We rarely drove together like this, preferring to spread out, but this was just a sign of how rattled we were all feeling after our latest brush with death. I sighed, thinking about how close we'd all come yet again. It hadn't seemed like we were ever that close to death when we'd hunted in the past, life was just spiralling out of control, things getting bigger and worse than they had ever been. It was a frightening prospect.

Dean seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he kept glancing over at me and then he dropped his arm down around my back, I had to move forward a little and turn slightly away so that he could slip his arm around my waist, bringing his hand around to rest protectively against my stomach. I laid my hand over it and sighed, closing my eyes as I leaned back against him, and watched Sam as he made a phone call.

"Hey, Ava, it's Sam, again. Um, call me when you get this, just want to make sure you got home ok. All right. Bye." Sam said, I frowned, thinking of the girl who had been in the motel room with him earlier, apparently she was also one of the psychic kids according to Sam, and had warned him through a vision about the explosives Gordon was planning to use on him.

"Everything all right?" I asked, and Sam looked over at me, a little worried.

"Yeah, I hope so," he said, not sounding convinced.

"Well, Gordon should be reaching for the soap for the next few years at least," Dean joked, and I smiled. It was a relief to think that psychopath was off the streets for a while.

"Yeah. If they pin Scott Carey's murder on him. And if he doesn't bust out," Sam said, always the pessimist.

Dean looked over at him, serious all of a sudden. "Dude, you ever take off like that again..."

"What?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow. "You'll kill me?" He looked at us, the irony of such a statement showing clearly on his face.

"That is so not funny," I muttered, snuggling into Dean a little further.

Sam laughed and shook his head at us. "All right. All right. So where to next, huh?"

Dean thought about it. "One word: Amsterdam." He said and I raised my eyebrow. Huh?

"Dean!" Sam exclaimed, shaking his head.

"Come on man, I hear the coffee shops don't even serve coffee," Dean said with a laugh.

"I'm not just gonna ditch the job." Sam said, looking at us.

"Screw the job. Screw it man. I'm sick of the job anyway. I mean, we don't get paid, we don't get thanked. The only thing we get is shot at, beaten up, and a whole string of bad luck." Dean said, looking between the two of us.

"Well, come on, dude, you're a hunter. I mean, it's what you were meant to do." Sam said, looking over at Dean.

"Oh, I wasn't meant to do anything, I don't believe in that destiny crap," Dean said and I smirked. We'd had this discussion a few times in the past.

"You mean you don't believe in my destiny," Sam said quietly.

"Yeah, whatever," Dean grumped.

"Look, Dean, I've tried running before. I mean, I ran all the way to California and look what happened. I can't run from this. And you guys can't protect me, not now." Sam said, looking at us both.

"We can try," I said quietly, and Dean nodded.

"Thanks for that," Sam said quietly back, I smiled at him. "But you have a baby on the way, a baby! You can't keep watching me, you can't protect me forever."

"Well what do you want us to do Sam? Go off and live some apple pie life while you go and get yourself killed?" Dean asked.

"Look, guys, I'm gonna keep hunting. I mean, whatever is coming, I'm taking it head-on; so if you really want to watch my back, then I guess you're gonna have to stick around... and hope we get to the bottom of it in like... three months, before all Beth can do is waddle, because she's gonna be no good as back-up then." He chuckled, but there was truth behind it, and it was the first time any of us had really said anything about the upcoming changes – what would we do? How would we deal with a baby? It's not as if any of us had any experience around raising a baby, unless you counted Dean helping raise Sam...we fell silent for a moment.

"Bitch," Dean said to Sam with a smirk.

"Jerk." Sam grinned back.

I smiled and knew that we'd be ok, we'd work it out. Dean squeezed me a little bit on the tummy, and it told me that he was feeling the same way. We were apprehensive, who wouldn't be? But we would face it head-on like we did everything: together.

Sam picked up his phone again, dialling a number.

"You calling that Ava girl again? You sweet on her or something?" I asked with a grin.

"She's engaged, Beth," Sam said, rolling his eyes at me.

"So? What's the point in saving the world if you can't get a little nookie once in a while, huh?" Dean said with a grin, and Sam raised his eyebrow.

"This coming from the soon to be Dad-of-the-year..." Sam said and Dean fell silent with a slight frown.

Sam hung up the phone, scowling. "What?" I asked.

"Just a feeling. How far is it to Peoria?" Sam asked and I shrugged, he was the one with the flashy GPS thing, my maps were all in the back and I wasn't moving for anyone.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Three hours later  
****Peoria, Illinois****  
**

Sam and Dean stood watch while I picked the lock to Ava's house. We entered and looked around, the house was silent as a grave.

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Sam called out, looking around.

There was no answer, and we started to move through the house. Eventually we came to the bedroom, the last room to check at the end of the house. We entered quietly and I gasped, seeing a man face-up on the bed, his shirt and sheets soaked in blood. I gagged and ran for the en-suite, making it to the toilet in time to vomit.

"Oh my god," I heard Sam say, upset.

I flushed the toilet, wiping down the seat and any surface I'd touched with a hand towel, and then I rinsed my mouth out with water, again wiping down the surface. I stuffed the towel in my bag, just in case – no point leaving prints and DNA around for the police, not that they would know who I was anyway.

Dean was crouched by the window, running a finger along the windowsill, I walked up to him and he looked at me with concern. He had a powdery substance collected on his finger.

"Sulphur," I said, looking at it. "A demon's been here." I said, looking around. My demon sense wasn't going off, so it was long gone, but it still left a bad taste in the mouth, and there was the more disturbing question – where was the girl?

Sam spotted something on the floor, and went to pick it up. He turned back to us, showing us a diamond ring.

"Ava..." He said, shocked. She was gone, and there was absolutely no clue as to where she was, or even _if she was any more._ I closed my eyes, not wanting to think about it, this was our life, demons and dead people. Who in their right minds would choose to bring a baby into this life?

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

_The song for this episode is **Kryptonite** by **Three Doors Down**_

* * *

_Thank you to everyone who left a review, or started a PM with me, it's been great chatting with you all about the direction of the story and how much you're enjoying the storyline :) I hope you continue to like it as much as I'm loving writing it!_

* * *

_Just want to do a little shout-out to my beautiful little niece, Ava Lily. I love her to death, and she has an awesome name! :) I really liked Ava in SPN, until right near the end of course, but then, she was driven to do what she had to do, poor girl._

* * *

_I found this episode a little bit meh... but it's essential to storyline, so had to write it – I don't really enjoy writing from Sam's POV but there was no getting around it. Hope it wasn't toooooo bad!_

_I promise I'll work in some quality Dean & Beth time soon, it just didn't sort of flow well for this episode._

* * *

_So out of curiosity, where is everyone located? I'm currently located in a little fishing / tourism town called Lakes Entrance, in Victoria Australia! But I've in a few different places in the USA over the period of eight years too so I'm always curious about people's locations :D_


	12. Playthings

_Even if I lose the game, I'm all in**  
**I'm all in tonight, yeah I'm all in, I'm all in for life  
There's no taking back**  
**what we've got's too strong,**  
**we've had each other's back for too long**  
**There's no breaking up this time**  
**And you know it's okay, I came to my senses**  
**Letting go of my defences**  
**There's no way I'm giving up this time  
And I'm all in, nothing left to hide_

* * *

**PLAYTHINGS**

* * *

**Medical Clinic  
****Peoria, Illinois****  
**

Dean was sitting next to me, fidgeting and looking a little pale. He hadn't shaved in about a week and had the start of a beard growing over his well defined jawline. I grinned, looking at it and running a hand along the hair growing there, I kind of liked it, made him look scruffy, and it was very sexy. It made me kind of want to jump him right then and there, even if it was hardly the time or place.

"So..." The woman, named Jessie, sitting on the other side said to me, "...first time?" She asked, looking over at us both. We nodded silently and bit my lip.

"Don't worry, it doesn't hurt," she said with a smile, she took a bottle of some kind of lubricant and squirted it on my stomach, then taking the wand and smoothing it over my belly. An image popped up on the screen, black and white, and completely making no sense to me. She moved it around until she was happy with what she was seeing and then clicked a button.

A sound came over the speakers on the computer, a rushing swoosh and I stared at the information, appearing on the screen on the wall in front of us.

"Nice strong heart beat," Jessie said to us and I gulped. It sounded like horse hoof beats, fast and rhythmic, as if they were galloping across a plain. It was the most incredible sound I'd ever heard. I glanced across at Dean and if it was possible, I'm sure he'd gone an even paler shade of white. I reached out and squeezed his hand, he looked at me with a smile, lifting my hand to kiss it quickly.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from a Winchester," I said, smiling.

Jessie talked about the photos she was taking, measurements of the foetus, it's length, and head circumference and so on. I wasn't really paying that much attention. I was looking for some kind of a _baby _and frowned when I couldn't see it.

"There's the brain," she said, circling a section on the screen with her mouse – it just looked like two halves of a circle. I frowned, shaking my head.

"Is something wrong?" Jessie asked and I looked over at her.

"Uhhh, well, I don't know..." I said, looking thoughtful. "Where's the baby?"

Dean leaned forward, looking confused too. "Well... I wasn't gonna say it, but yeah... she has a point... that kind of looks like something out of the slushy machine at the 7/11, or maybe a cashew nut..." he said, deadpan, tilting his head to the side. I licked my lips, salted cashews sounded really good right about now, I shook my head, damn cravings.

Jessie smiled at us and changed a few things on the screen.

"You won't see a lot, particularly since this little one seems to like lying on their side right now. But here..." she seemed to pan out on the screen, to a cross section of my entire uterus. There was a big blob there, indistinguishable from any other kind of a blob. She pointed to a bigger part of it, "...this is the head." I raised my eyebrow and shrugged. Dean shook his head, looking a little awed.

"That blob is a little human being?" He asked quietly.

"That's right," Jessie said, smiling at us both. "We do have to get him or her to turn over so I can get some other readings though, so I'm just going to manipulate your uterus a little if that's ok Beth?" I nodded and she put her free hand on my stomach, pressing in certain positions. I took in a sharp breath at one point, a little bit of a pain shooting through me and she apologised, but kept pushing.

Eventually she got to whatever it was she wanted, removing the hand leaving just the wand.

"Did you want to know the sex?" She asked, looking at us. Dean and I glanced at each other, we hadn't actually talked about it.

"You can tell that already?" He asked with a frown, squinting at the screen. I stared too, mentally rolling my eyes. I couldn't make sense of what I was seeing, it was just like black and white static really. I sat back, contemplating.

Jessie nodded at us, "Sometimes you can, but it would just be preliminary, you'd have a better idea at your twenty week scan – I wouldn't go out and decorate the nursery on it right now."

Dean raised his eyebrow, looking at me with a twinkle in his eye. I snorted, nursery, yeah... ok. Try a motel room, covered in missing persons pictures and notes – which is what our current home for the last month had been, where Sam was right now, still on his relentless hunt for the missing girl, Ava. Jessie looked at us, not getting the joke, a slight frown on her forehead.

"Uh, well I don't know, do you want to know Dean?" I asked, looking over at him.

He considered, and then shrugged at me. "What do you want?" He asked, squeezing my hand. I bit my lip, I was torn. On one hand I hated surprises, but on the other hand, I didn't know if I really wanted to know right now either. Maybe it would make it too real, listening to the heart beat was kind of driving that point home a little too much already.

I swallowed, thinking about my answer. "Can we keep it a surprise for now?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Maybe write it down and seal it, because she's going to change her mind," Dean said and I punched him in the arm playfully.

"Hey!"

He looked at me with an amused expression. "You and your mood swings have been nothing short of phenomenal lately, I'm not getting caught in the middle of another 'I should have...' moment. Nope, I'm gonna be prepared this time," Dean said, nodding and looking pleased with his plans. I shrugged and conceded the point, I had been kind of crazy the last few weeks.

Jessie smiled and wrote something on the back of one of their business cards, taking an envelope out of the desk in the corner and sealing it. She handed it to Dean with a flourish and he pocketed it, grinning. I shook my head with a chuckle. I was already regretting not finding out, but no way was I going to admit that now.

The rest of the scan was routine, and Jessie left ten minutes later, giving us some privacy so that I could get back into my clothes. I had other ideas though, and after I slipped my top over my head again, I turned to sit in Dean's lap, straddling him and kissing along his neck.

"Mmmm," Dean said with a smile, his hands running down my side to grasp my hips. "Isn't this what got us into this situation in the first place?" He murmured as I reached his lips, gently nipping at his lower lip before catching his upper lip between my own, sucking softly at him.

"Not much we can do about that now, might as well enjoy the ride," I said pulling back a little, before starting to kiss him again, rocking against his lap.

Dean hesitated slightly, pulling back and I looked at him, a frown on my face. "What?"

"Uh... well... you know, I'm sure that girl is gonna be back in like five minutes..." He said, raising his eyebrow at me. "And I really need longer than that right now sugarpie..."

I groaned, a little frustrated and silently cursed all these hormones running through my body, it didn't help that just looking at Dean made me want to jump his bones on any given day, adding in the hormones just made it a hundred times worse.

"But Deeean... Sam's been teasing me enough without giving him more ammo by getting another room," I whined, Dean raised his eyebrow at me.

"We never did christen the back of the Impala..." He suggested with a smile.

I smirked, "You know what... we seriously didn't." Suddenly that seemed like such a better idea.

I slid off his lap, pulling on my jeans with a grimace, they were getting a little tighter, but I was refusing so far to go buy new clothes. I knew it was going to have to happen sooner or later, but there was still some part of me in complete denial about the changes that were occurring to my body.

* * *

Once we were in the Impala, and heading toward the motel again, Dean started to breathe a little easier. I watched him and the colour starting to return to his face. I chuckled to myself, for Dean, he was handling this whole thing pretty well really. Just the same, I wasn't surprised when he swung into the nearest liquor store.

"You want anything?" He asked, looking over at me.

"Tequila?" I asked, raising my eyebrow. He chuckled and leaned over to kiss me softly.

"I don't think so gorgeous," he said, looking at me. I sighed and shook my head, I was fine.

He was five minutes in the store, and then when we were back on the road, he turned up a road we hadn't explored yet, taking us out of town. He pulled down a few dirt tracks until he was satisfied we were alone.

"You were serious?" I asked, gaping.

"Weren't you?" He asked, looking a little amused. I smiled, chewing thoughtfully on my lower lip, and then my hormones decided that this was a great idea. I nodded and pulled him toward me so that I could climb back onto his lap, like in the clinic without the restriction of the steering wheel..

I ran my thumbs along his bearded chin, my fingers cupping his jaw either side of his face as I kissed him, tilting his head up so I could get a nice deep angle. Closing my eyes, I surrendered to the feel of his lips under mine, the fresh minty taste of his breath – he smelled like Christmas morning and that made me smile. I could feel him smile back under my attentions and I groaned at how intimate and close he felt pressed against me, his hands on my hips. I took my time, drinking him up. It'd been a while since we had a spare moment to just be like this, in the moment, not worrying about the future... the baby, demons, Sam.

Dean groaned, pulling back and then inclining his head toward the back. "Back seat is way more comfy," he said with a grin and I nodded, peeling myself away from him, and climbing out the passenger door. I paused as he followed and opened the back door. He leaned against the side of the car, pulling me to him, running his hands up under my shirt to squeeze my breasts, they had been tender and swollen lately, I'd had to literally go up a cup size with my bras and Dean had made no secret of how sexy he found that.

I moaned at the touch, as his fingers smoothed away the swollen feeling in them, I shuddered at how good it felt. Pressing my thigh in between his legs, I found him hard and ready. I pulled at his jeans, unzipping them and running my hand down into his boxers, brushing against the warmth I found there.

Dean gasped a little sharply at the sudden contact and I pulled away with a grin, sliding into the back seat, pushing the bag that was in the back up against the far door and using it as a pillow. Dean followed me into the car with a hungry look, his hands worked at my jeans and I raised my legs up to help him pull them off me with a smile.

He leaned in to kiss me again, and I pulled at his jacket, sliding it from his shoulders and running my hands under the layers of clothing he was wearing, it was winter, in Illinois, maybe the back seat of the car hadn't been the best idea. Dean pulled the door closed, shutting out the cold and things instantly heated up.

I reached up to kiss along his collar bone, sucking softly at the skin there, before settling into the crook of his neck, licking and nipping, careful not to mark him up though – that was just childish, and a tactic I reserved for when I wanted to mark territory, I grinned at the thought.

Dean paused, pulling back as I started to raise my hips to him, grinding against him slowly. I frowned, opening my eyes and looking up into seas of green which were staring down at me, conflicted.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

Dean swallowed, "Nothing, but uh, exactly how does this work now you're carrying the next line of the Winchester clan?" He asked, his brow furrowing a little.

"Same as it always worked Dean... take part A, insert into part B...and repeat..." He rolled his eyes at me. "What?" I asked, not understanding his hesitation.

"What about the baby?" He asked, genuinely concerned. "Because I was reading online..."

"Wait, you looked this up online?" I asked with a grin, pushing up on my elbows a little to look at him and I swear he blushed.

"Well, you're not the only one with raging hormones cherry-pie," he said with a smirk. I laughed and kissed him again, just once on the lips.

"It's fine Dean, whatever you were reading is an old wives' tale," I said. I'd been doing my own reading on the subject, and when I got no real answers, I'd checked with the doctor. He visibly relaxed and then his expression took on a little more cheek to it, the old Dean returning to the surface.

He leaned over me and started to kiss along my shoulder, working his way along to my neck. "Well thank god for that," he murmured between kisses, "because... while what we were doing the other night..." I smiled a little at the memory, "...was all well and good." He paused and looked at me. "Sometimes I just need a little more of you," and the hunger returned to his eyes as he kissed me with an urgent need, almost drawing the very breath from me as we fell into that familiar space, where we could just be in the moment, together, like it was supposed to be.

* * *

**Motel Room**

We returned to the motel room a few hours later and let ourselves in to the familiar sounds of blues music playing on the radio. We'd found the station a week ago and had been listening to it ever since. The walls were covered in maps, Sam's hand-written notes, and the missing post of Ava that was permanently burned into my retinas I'd looked at it so often. I found myself looking for John's handwriting on the wall, and always felt a little sad when I didn't find it.

I sniffed back tears, thinking about him as I walked through the doors, my heart was overspilling at the moment with love and affection for everything in my life and suddenly it hit me how we were alone, without our dad, and I wished he could be here to see this life growing inside of me.

"Oh boy," Dean said seeing the tears and guiding me to the bed, making me sit down. He reached for one of the many boxes of tissues that sat around the room, kneeling in front of me on the floor. Sam was on the phone but he paused to give us a concerned look.

"OK, might have overdone it, hmmm?" He asked as silent tears started flowing down my cheeks and I looked at him helplessly, wringing my hands and brushing at the tears.

"It's... it's not that. That was great," I said, smiling at him through the tears and flashed back on the last few hours. "Oh that was really great, I needed that... but it's just," and my voice broke again as my emotions flooded from emptiness, to lust, to love and then back to heart broken in the space of a minute. I waved my hand in the air at the walls. "Where are Dad's notes?" I wailed and buried my face in the pillow behind me.

"Ohhh, boy," Dean said, shaking his head and patting me on the back. "Uhhh, Sam, you want to get off the damn phone and help a man out here? Please?"

Sam looked over at us, a sympathetic look on his face. "Yeah, uh, thanks Ellen, I gotta go. Yeah, thanks again," and he hung up, coming over to sit on the other side of the bed.

"Hey, Beth... it's ok you know," Sam said to me, laying a hand on my shoulder, shrugging at Dean. "It's just the hormones," he said to me.

"I know that!" I wailed, sobbing into the pillow. The boys looked on helplessly, still not sure how to deal with one of these meltdowns that were becoming fairly regular lately.

I sniffed and tried to pull myself together, taking one of the tissues Dean was waving about in front of me. It was embarrassing to feel like this, so up and down all the time like I was on a perpetual roller-coaster, I'd cried more in the last month than I had in the entire time I'd ever known Dean and Sam.

"What did Ellen have to say?" I asked Sam, rolling on to my side and dabbing at my eyes, wiping my nose. Sam looked pained, and I wasn't sure if it was because of me or something else.

"Oh, she's got nothing." Sam said matter-of-factly. "And I've been re-checking every database I can think of – federal, state and local. No one's heard anything about Ava, she just vanished into thin air you know?"

I nodded, I knew, we'd been trying to follow the trail, which was only getting colder by the day for almost a month.

Seeing that I'd calmed down a little Dean went and helped himself to one of the beers in the fridge, restocking with the ones he'd bought earlier. I swear he downed half the bottle in one go, I fought back pangs of guilt and secretly feared I was sending him to an early grave with this whole pregnancy.

"What about you?" Sam asked, looking at me. I smiled and sat up against the head board, feeling a little better.

"Good, baby is great, healthy, strong," I said, and there it was, the swing up to the happy region again. Dean shook his head at the sudden mood swing and took another long swig of his beer.

"Well, that's great... I'm glad," Sam said with a smile, and he looked happy too. "I was starting to worry, you guys were gone a while."

Dean and I shared a knowing look and I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, we had other … things... we had to get done too." Dean said, leaving it at that. Sam nodded, not really concerned about it.

"Well, Ellen did have one thing," Sam said, looking over at Dean.

"Hmm?" Dean asked, curious.

"A hotel in Cornwall, Connecticut. Two freak accidents in the past three weeks," he said, looking back at me.

"Yeah? What's that have to do with Ava?" I asked, instantly intrigued.

"Well, nothing, actually," Sam said with a shrug. "It's a job. I mean, a lady drowned in the bathtub; then a few days ago a guy falls down the stairs, head turns a complete one-eighty. Which isn't exactly normal, you know?" He looked between the pair of us and we frowned.

"Look, I don't know guys, it might be nothing," Sam continued. "But I told Ellen we'd think about checking it out."

"You did?" Dean asked, looking a little surprised. We hadn't exactly been doing any jobs lately because of my emotional roller-coaster ride and the hunt for Ava.

"Yeah, you seem surprised," Sam said, a slight frown crossing his brow.

"Well yeah, it's just, you know. Not the patented Sam Winchester way, is it?" Dean said, finishing off his beer and reaching for another one.

"What way is that?" Sam said, sitting up a little straighter and looking at Dean with a challenge.

Dean shrugged slightly. "I just figured after Ava, there'd be, uh... you know... more angst and droopy music, and staring out the rainy windows, and..."

Sam gave Dean a warning look and Dean fell quiet. "Yeah, I'll shut up now," he said with a chuckle.

"Look. I'm the one who told her to go back home. Now her fiancée is dead and some demon has taken her off to God knows where. You know?" Sam said standing up and talking in a self-flagellating tone, he was still beating himself up over her abduction, blaming himself.

"But we've been looking for a month now, and we've got nothing. So I'm not giving up on her, but I'm not going to let other people die either. We've got to save as many people as we can." And there it was, this new Sam-Winchester-World-Hero attitude that had suddenly come to the surface. We were still getting used to it, we were still getting used to a lot of things, feeling them through as we went.

"Wow. That attitude is just way too healthy for me, and I'm officially uncomfortable now. Thank you," Dean said, tilting his beer in a cheers motion to Sam.

Sam chuckled and looked over at me. I was shaking my head at the pair of them.

"Well?" He asked, seeking my opinion on the matter.

I shrugged. "Well, seems harmless enough," I said, looking over at Dean.

"All right, call Ellen," Dean said, looking at Sam. "Tell her we'll take it."

* * *

**Pierpoint Inn  
Cornwall, Connecticut**

The Inn was tudor-style, one of my favourite architectural design features, and sat in amongst an old-growth forest. When we arrived, it was cold, dreary grey, and had just finished raining about an hour earlier, so everything was covered in a thin layer of water. I got out of the car as soon as Dean pulled out the front and took in a deep breath, I loved the smell of the woods, especially after rainfall.

"Dude, this is sweet. I never get to work jobs like this." Dean said, looking appreciatively at the Inn.

"Like what?" I asked him, curious.

"Old school haunted houses, you know? Fog, and secret passageways, sissy British accents like Jefferson's," he said, referring to a hunter friend of the family. "Might even run in into Fred and Daphne while we're inside." He closed his eyes briefly. "Mmm. Daphne. Love her."

I looked at him and bit my lip, not something I wanted to hear right now. Sam noticed the quivering lip and hit Dean upside the head.

"God you're an idiot!" He said, moving around to give me a hug. "He doesn't mean it Beth, in fact, Dean always said how much Daphne reminded him of you." I hugged Sam back and fought back the mood swing. "Right Dean?"

"Yeah, of course," Dean said quickly, coming over to kiss my forehead and pull me out of Sam's arms. "You are my Daphne, you know that," he reassured me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I knew it was total nonsense, but it still made me feel better. I kind of rolled my eyes at myself for feeling so emotionally wound-up, I found myself wishing there was some pill I could take to make it all go away.

The doctor had assured me that it would get better as I entered the second trimester... well I was already in it and there were no signs of it letting up, but I was hoping maybe my body was just late getting to the party, and that it would get with the program soon.

I pulled away from Dean, punching him lightly in the chest and smiling. "Yeah ok, don't overdo it," I said, pulling myself together. Dean grinned and grabbed our bags out of the car, slinging one over his shoulder and holding the other. He put his free arm back around my waist and led me to the door, placing a kiss against my hair. "We'll get our own room, maybe they'll have one with a spa," he said quietly and I smiled, that sounded good but it was doubtful in an old house like this, we'd be lucky if it wasn't communal bathrooms.

We walked up the steps to the door, and Sam paused, looking at something.

"I'm not so sure haunted's the problem," he said, pointing to an urn on the side of the porch.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, looking back at him.

"You see this pattern here?" Sam asked, tapping a five-point symbol engraved on the urn. "That's a quincunx, that's a five-spot."

I frowned and came over to look at it. "Five-spot... that's used for hoodoo spellwork, isn't it?" I asked.

"Right, yeah. You fill this thing with bloodweed and you've got a powerful charm to ward off enemies," Sam said, looking around.

"Yeah, except I don't see any bloodweed," Dean pointed out. He looked up at the building. "Don't you think this place is a little too, uh... whitemeat for hoodoo?"

"Maybe," Sam shrugged, looking curiously about.

Dean headed back up the steps to the front door and opened it, I trailed along behind him, Sam bringing up the rear. I paused to look at a painting in the outer foyer, it was a reprint of _The Madonna Reading, The Angel Gabriel Approaching From The Sky _by Carlo Maratta. I loved this portrayal as a snippet into the window of time, right before the Madonna would receive news that would change her life.

"May I help you?" A young woman asked, from behind a desk as Dean and Sam walked past me into the inner foyer.

"Uh, yeah, I'd like a room for a couple of nights," Dean said, he spun around as a little girl went running between him and Sam.

"Hey!" The woman exclaimed at the girl, then apologised to Sam. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," Sam said with a smile.

"Well, congratulations, you could be some of our final guests," the woman said.

"Wow. Sounds vaguely ominous," Dean said uncomfortably, glancing over at Sam.

"No, I'm sorry, I mean we're closing at the end of the month." She said, I saw her give them an appraising look and I smirked, I could see what was coming.

"Well, let me guess. You guys are here antiquing?" She asked. Dean and Sam shared a look and shrugged.

"How'd you know?" Dean asked, going with it.

"Oh you just look the type," she said and I snickered. Dean looked uncomfortable at the idea that he would look anything like someone into antiques.

"So, uh, king-sized bed?" She asked, looking from Dean to Sam.

"What?" Sam asked, surprised. I snickered again and decided to go put them out of their misery. "No, uh, we're, we're … two doubles... we're just brothers."

"Oh. Oh I'm so sorry," the woman said, looking mortified.

"What'd you mean that we look the type?" Dean asked, still stuck on that comment.

I walked into the room and put my arm around his waist, smiling at the woman. "We'll take the king-sized bed, Sam here can have his own room," I said, winking at our little brother. Dean handed her his credit card and the woman nodded, looking down at her ledger.

"You know, speaking of antiques, you have a really, really interesting urn on the front porch," Sam said. "Where did you get that?"

"Oh, I have no idea, it's been there forever," she said, handing back the card to Dean. "Here you go, Mr Mahagov."

The woman hit a bell on the desk, and looked at Dean and I. "You'll be staying in room 237, and your brother is just across the hall in 238." An old balding man appeared wearing a black blazer. "Sherwin, could you show our guests to their rooms?"

"Let me guess," Sherwin said, looking from Sam to Dean, seeming to ignore me. "Antiquers?"

* * *

The old man took Dean's duffel and started to drag it along the floorboards, Dean cringed, watching as he pulled it behind him, it clunked loudly up each step as we proceeded to the second level of the house. I took a moment to be thankful that it was Dean's duffel, and that mine was safely hoisted over Dean's shoulder, at least my glass candle wasn't going to end up broken.

"I could give you a hand with that bag," Dean said to the man.

"I got it," Sherwin replied pleasantly.

"Okay..." Dean muttered, throwing me an unhappy look.

"So, the hotel's closing up, huh?" Sam asked, following behind us.

"Yep. Miss Susan tried to make a go of it, but the guests just don't come like they used to. Still, it's a damn shame," Sherwin replied, walking ahead of us and chatting at the same time.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, watching him as we walked.

"It may not look it any more, but this place was a palace. Two different vice presidents laid their heads on our pillows. My parents worked here, I practically grew up here. Gonna miss it." He stopped in front of a door and gestured. "Here are your rooms."

He slipped the key into the room on the left and opened the door. I brushed past and allowed Dean to get the key off him. Dean followed me, turning to shut the door. Sherwin was still standing there, hand extended out, an expectant look on his face. Dean looked down at the hand and then back at the man.

"You're not gonna cheap out on me, are you, boy?" He asked. Dean shot me an annoyed look as he pulled out his wallet, reaching for a few bills and handing them over. Sam chuckled from the hallway and waited to be shown his room.

A short while later Sam joined us in our room and started going through paperwork. Dean was pacing, a bundle of wound up energy. He walked up to stare at an antique wedding dress that was pinned to the wall. He chuckled at it, shaking his head.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over at him.

"That's normal," Dean said with a snort, pointing at the dress. "Why the hell would anyone stay here? I'm amazed they kept in business this long."

Sam ignored him and Dean came to join me on the bed. I was sitting in the middle because the mattress sagged, reminding me of the last time we'd slept in a bed like this, when we were on the job with Jefferson in Philadelphia. Dean startled when the mattress started to suck him into the middle of the bed and he struggled to sit on the edge of the bed, precariously balanced.

Philadelphia had been long before we'd been a couple. I smiled at the memory of a night spent cuddled up together in the middle of the bed out of necessity to get some sleep – how excruciating it had been at the time because I'd wanted him so badly but couldn't act on it. I found myself looking forward to a repeat, only this time making it even better.

"All right," Sam said, reading from the paper. "Victim number one: Joan Edison, forty-three years old, a realtor handling the sale of the hotel; and victim number two was Larry Williams, moving some stuff out to Goodwill.

"Well, there's a connection," I said, "they're both tied up in shutting the place down."

"Yeah. Maybe somebody here doesn't want to leave, and they're using hoodoo to fight back," Sam agreed with a nod.

"Who do you think our witch doctor is? That Susan lady?" Dean said, referring to the woman at the front desk.

"No, doesn't seem likely," I said. "I mean, she is the one selling."

Dean frowned, thinking about what I'd said. "So who then, Sherwin?"

"I don't know," I said with a shrug.

"Of course, the most troubling question is why do these people always assume we're gay as soon as Beth isn't around?" Dean said, looking quite concerned at this revelation.

"Well, you are kind of butch," Sam said with a chuckle. "Probably think you're overcompensating." I chuckled and Dean forced a laugh, not impressed.

"Right." He said, looking uncomfortable.

* * *

A short while later, we'd decided to take a look around the Inn, do a little snooping. Sam stopped to look at another urn on a table near the landing of the stairs leading to the ground floor.

"Hey," he said, getting our attention. "Look at that, more Hoodoo." He pointed to another quincunx inscribed inside the urn. This theme was starting to look less and less coincidental.

Dean walked past us to knock at a door labelled "Private". Susan opened it after a moment, looking out the three of us standing there.

"Hi. Everything ok with your room?" She asked.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's great," Dean and Sam said, talking over each other.

"Well, I was just in the middle of packing," Susan said, a little awkwardly as everyone fell silent.

Dean was staring past her into the room. "Hey, are those antique dolls?" He asked, looking at a bookshelf behind the door covered in creepy looking dolls, I shuddered, chucky dolls I called them. Ick.

"Because this one, this one here," Dean said, turning to indicate Sam, "he's got a major doll collection back home. Don't ya? Huh?" He turned to look at Sam, a challenge in his eyes.

Sam looked slightly mortified but composed himself, knowing he couldn't get out of the latest addition to our cover story. "Big time," he said with a short nod to Susan.

"Big time. You think he could come – or we could come in and take a look?" Dean asked, pushing her comfort zone.

"I don't know." Susan said, hesitating.

"Please? I mean, he loves them. He's not gonna tell you this, but he's, he's always dressing 'em up in these little outfits and, um, you'd make his day." Dean turned to Sam with a grin. "She would, wouldn't she? Huh?"

I bit my lip to stop from laughing at the looks being exchanged by the two brothers. Finally Sam turned back to Susan.

"It's true," he conceded with a nod.

Susan smiled, "OK, come on in," she said, opening the door further and allowing us all the enter.

"All right, all right!" Dean said encouragingly to Sam. I shook my head, he was a horrible brother sometimes, just horrible. Sam shot him a glare that would have killed him on the spot if it could.

Dean paused to look around. The entire room was just filled with the Chucky dolls. "Wow," Dean breathed. "This is a lot of dolls. I mean, they're nice, you know. Not super...creepy... at all." I raised my eyebrow at that, his tone showing that he obviously was as creeped out by them as I was.

"Yeah, I suppose they are a little creepy," Susan conceded with a shrug of her shoulders. "But they've been in the family forever. A lot of sentimental value."

I was looking at a doll house which was tucked away in a corner. "Is this the hotel?" I asked, looking over at Susan.

"Yeah, that's right. Exact replica, custom built," Susan said with a smile.

I leaned down and picked up a broken doll inside the house that was lying at the foot of the stairs, holding it up for Dean and Sam to see. "His head got twisted around. What happened to it?" I asked.

Susan shrugged. "Tyler, probably," she explained with a smile. Tyler, the little girl from earlier, ran into the room at that moment.

"Mommy! Maggie's being mean," the little girl said to her mother.

"Tyler, tell her I said to be nice, ok?" Susan said indulgingly.

"Hey, Tyler. I see you broke your doll," I said, holding up miniature man in my hand. "You want me to fix it?"

"I didn't break it. I found it like that," Tyler said, looking at me.

"Oh, well uh, maybe Maggie did it." I said, referring to the girl she'd just mentioned.

"No, neither of us did it. Grandma would get mad if we broke 'em." Tyler explained.

"Tyler, she wouldn't get mad," Susan said.

"Grandma?" Dean asked, curious.

"Grandma Rose," Tyler said. "These were all her toys."

"Oh. Really. Where's Grandma Rose now?" Dean asked, looking over at me following a hunch.

"Up in her room," Tyler said.

"You know, I'd, I'd really love to talk to Rose about her incredible doll..." Sam started to request an audience with Grandma Rose, but was cut short.

"No," Susan said shortly. "I mean, I'm afraid that's impossible. My mother's been very sick and she's not taking any visitors." We all looked at each other exchanging glances. It was a curious reaction to a simple request.

We excused ourselves, Susan was clearly starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, and there was nothing further to ask at this point. Dean spoke in a hushed voice as we walked back down the hallway to our rooms.

"Well, what do you think? Dolls, hoodoo, mysterious shut-in grandma?" He asked, looking over at us.

"Well, dolls are used in all kinds of voodoo and hoodoo, like curses, and binding spells..." I said, nodding.

"Yeah, maybe we've found our witch doctor," Dean said coming to a stop and looking at me. "All right, we'll see what we can go dig up on hoodoo granny," he then looked at Sam. "You go get online, check old obits, freak accidents, that sort of thing, see if she's whacked anybody before." Sam nodded and started to walk off toward the rooms.

"Don't go surfing for porn, that's not the kind of whacking I mean!" Dean said to his retreating back. Sam turned around and rolled his eyes at his brother. I stifled a chuckle and shook my head, oh Dean was all teasing attitude now he was getting some action again.

* * *

**Outside the Hotel**

Night had fallen, Dean and I had been down to the local library doing research – finding nothing, then we'd stopped for some dinner because I was starving. At least the morning sickness had passed, I was back to a normal, healthy appetite, and keeping the food down.

When we got back to the hotel a coroner's vehicle was parked out the front, and a man was being wheeled out on a stretcher. Susan was speaking to a Sheriff, and she turned to walk away toward us as we stood on the steps to the hotel.

"What happened?" Dean asked, as she approached us.

"Oh, the maid went in to turn down the sheets and he was just... hanging there," she said, clutching at her throat and looking distressed.

"That's awful," I said. "Was he a guest?"

"He worked for the company that bought the place," Susan answered. Dean and I exchanged a look.

"Hmmm," Dean murmured thoughtfully.

"I don't understand," Susan said absently, voicing a thought.

"What?" Dean asked, slipping a hand around my waist.

"Had a lot of bad luck around here," Susan said, looking up at the hotel. She shrugged and glanced back at us. "Look, if you'd like to check out I'll give you a full refund," she offered.

We smiled and I shook my head. "No thanks, we don't scare that easy," I answered for the both of us.

* * *

When we got up to our room Sam's door was ajar, and I could see him sitting alone in the dark in the middle of the room on a chair. He looked defeated, slumped over and silent. Dean wasn't paying much attention, already opening our own door with the key.

I hesitated at Sam's door and then pushed it open a little, stepping into the room.

"Sammy?" I said, coming around to look at him. Dean saw me go into the room and followed, looking over at his brother. Sam didn't answer us.

"There's been another death, some guy just hung himself in his room," I said to Sam.

"Yeah I saw," Sam said darkly, head still hanging down.

"Well, we've gotta figure this out, and fast. What'd you find out about Granny?" Dean asked, walking over to the desk and starting to flip through the papers stacked there.

"You're bossy," Sam said randomly and Dean turned around looking at me in surprise.

"What?" Dean asked, looking taken aback.

"You're bossy," Sam repeated with a shrug, looking over at Dean. "And you're short," he laughed sloppily at this observation and I raised my eyebrow.

"Sammy, are you drunk?" I asked, standing in front of our little brother.

"Yeah. So?" Sam said, shrugging again and giving us a look filled with attitude. He turned to Dean again. "Stupid..." he muttered.

Dean looked around and then inclined his head at what looked like the entire contents of the mini-bar laid out on the bench, empty.

"Dude, what are you thinking?" Dean asked, "we're working a case!"

Sam looked at me tearfully and sighed. "That guy who hung himself. I couldn't save him."

I sat down on the bed next to Sam and reached out for his hand. "What are you talking about? You didn't know, you couldn't have done anything," I said to him.

Sam stared at me. "That's an excuse, Beth. I should have found a way to save him. I should have saved Ava too." His eyes were haunted, and a look of anguish and guilt covered his face. I frowned over at Dean, apparently we'd just found the patented Sam Winchester, who had been hiding underneath all the false bravado that had been levied at us earlier in the day.

Dean approached us and stood in front of Sam. "Yeah, well you can't save everyone, even you said that," he said, a little dismissively.

Sam slammed his hands down on the armrests of the chair. "No! Dean you don't understand all right? The more people I save, the more I can change!"

"Change what?" Dean asked, looking confused.

Sam leaned forward, clutching his hands to his chest, looking up at Dean. "My destiny, Dean." He hesitated, watching his brother.

Dean's face softened as he looked at Sam, and he threw a worried glance at me.

"All right," I said, "Time for bed. Come on, Sammy," I said, slipping my arm around Sam's waist and trying to haul him to his feet.

"Yeah, come on," Dean agreed, helping me get Sam to his feet. Sam tottered precariously, leaning heavily on my shoulder.

"I need you to watch out for me," he said to neither of us in particular.

"Yeah, we always do Sam," I said, trying to reassure him.

"No! No, no, no, no. You have to _watch out _for me, all right?" Sam said, pulling away and standing in front of us. His eyes focused and he looked at both of us in turn. "If I ever turn into something that I'm not..." he turned to look at Dean. "You have to kill me."

Dean turned his head to the side, taking a breath. "Sam," he said dismissively, not wanting to get into a drunken discussion, especially one like this.

Sam shoved Dean and forced his brother to face him. "Dean! Dad told you to do it, you have to!"

"Yeah, well, Dad's an ass," Dean said angrily. Sam stared at him, confused. "He never should have said anything, I mean, you don't do that, you don't, you don't lay that kind of crap on your kids," Dean added, and I watched him, curious about this new attitude of his, he'd been doing a lot of soul searching lately.

"No. He was right to say it! Who knows what I might become? Even now, everyone around me dies!" Sam argued, shaking his head.

"Yeah, well, I'm not dying, and Beth's not dying, ok? And neither are you. Come on, Sam," Dean said, pushing Sam down on the bed, trying to get him to lie down and sleep it off. Sam struggled, grabbing Dean's shirt.

"No, please! Dean, you guys are the only ones who can do it. Beth, you have to promise." He looked urgently over at me.

I looked at him sadly. "Sammy, don't ask that of us," I said, tears in my eyes.

"Please, Beth. Dean, please. You have to promise me," Sam said, still holding on to Dean's shirt. Dean exchanged a look with me, he was unhappy. I frowned, and stepped over to them both, brushing my hand across Sam's forehead and pushing his hair out of his eyes.

I stared into those big brown eyes, full of tears and felt my heart break for him. He was still just that little thirteen year old boy I'd first met a decade ago, and always would be to me, no matter how old we were.

"I promise," I whispered to him and Dean sighed at me. "We promise, ok?" I said, looking up at Dean. Sam watched us both, looking first at me and then Dean. Slowly Dean nodded at Sam and we saw him relax, letting go of Dean.

"Thanks," Sam said, grabbing my face between his hands and looking into my eyes. "Thank you."

"OK, all right. Come on Sam, let's get you to bed ok?" I said gently, nodding at him, reaching up to remove his hands from my face. Sam fell back on the bed, turning over to face plant the pillow. He grabbed another pillow, pulling it in to his stomach and hugged it close.

Dean sat down on the chair Sam had been in, rubbing a hand across his eyes and down his mouth. I looked at him, concerned, as I took Sam's shoes off, and pulled a blanket up over him, sitting next to him and gently brushing my fingers across his forehead as he settled down and closed his eyes.

"I love you guys," he mumbled with a smile. I smiled back at him, then looked up at Dean.

"We love you too Sammy," I said, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Get some rest, we'll see you in the morning."

Dean stood up and followed me out of the room, closing the door behind us. Our door was open from earlier and I entered first. Dean stood in the door way, hesitating, a conflicted look on his face.

"Dean?" I asked, looking over at him. Dean stalked into the room, closing the door, and then came straight up to me.

"I am _not _going to kill my brother!" He said angrily, looking down at me.

"I know that, geez Dean, I didn't mean it – you know I'd never do anything to hurt Sam," I said, frowning at him. "Who do you think you're talking to here?" I asked.

Dean paused, taking a deep breath. "Yeah I know, I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking." I reached up to brush my hand along his cheek. He sighed and turned troubled eyes to me. "What are we going to do with him?"

I raised my eyebrow and half-shrugged. "Nothing, he's heard what he needed to hear from us, and now we know what's really going on inside of him. We do what we've always done, we look after him, that's all there is to it."

Dean nodded, sighing. "Remember when our lives were so much less complicated?" He asked with a smirk. I smiled and nodded, it seemed so long ago. Dean leaned in to me, his forehead pressed against mine, eyes closed. We stood like this for a few heartbeats and I hoped he was getting whatever comfort he needed. "At least I have you," he whispered in the end and I smiled, kissing him lightly on the lips.

"And I could _really _use a drink..." he said with a chuckle. I inclined my head with a grin.

"Let's go see if there's a bar, hmm?" He nodded at my suggestion and guided me to the door, his hand firmly at the small of my back.

* * *

**Hotel Bar**

Sherwin was behind the bar when we located it, not too far from the foot of the main staircase. The room was empty, so we took a seat at the bar.

"Find any good antiques?" Sherwin asked.

Dean looked confused at first then remembered the cover story from earlier. "Um, no! No, we got distracted," he answered, looking at the old man.

"Have a drink," Sherwin said pouring another glass of whiskey to compliment the one he was working on himself.

"Yeah, thanks," Dean said, nodding. Sherwin poured me a drink too, sliding it in front of me, I smiled, not wanting to discourage him, so I nursed it, not bothering to drink it.

"So, poor guy, huh?" I said, "Killing himself?"

"That kind of thing seems to be going around lately," Sherwin said with a nod.

"Yeah, yeah, we heard about the other ones. It's almost like this hotel is cursed or something," Dean chimed in, taking a sip of his whiskey.

"Every hotel has its spilled blood. If people only knew what's gone on in some of those rooms they've checked into." Sherwin said with a raised eyebrow, taking a sip of his own drink. I smiled, I thought about some of the things that went on in the rooms _we _checked into, and based on that, I wasn't sure I wanted to know about what other people did in them.

"You know a lot about the place, don't you?" I asked, looking at Sherwin.

"Down to the last nail," Sherwin said with a smile.

"I'd love to hear some stories," Dean said, giving him a grin.

"Boy, you should never say that to an old man..." Sherwin said with a chuckle. I laughed, Sherwin clearly had a liking to talk.

Not long after Sherwin was leading us up the staircase, showing us the old framed photographs on the walls.

"This is little miss Susan, and her mother Rose. Happier days," he said, pausing in front of a photo of a distinguished looking woman and her daughter.

"They're not happy now?" I asked, looking at the photo.

"Well, would you be, leaving the only home you ever knew?" Sherwin asked, looking back at us.

"I don't know, we never really had one," I answered honestly, he paused, looking at us with a shake of his head.

"Well, this is Rose's home, been in the family over a century. Used to be the family estate. And now she gets to live in some senior living graveyard, and they tear this place down." Sherwin said quietly, his voice level but disapproving.

"That's too bad," Dean said, turning to start back down the stairs. "I hear Rose isn't feeling well, either," he added, looking back at Sherwin.

"No, she isn't," the old man said, following.

"What's wrong with her?" I asked, trying to fish for more information.

"It's not my business to say," Sherwin said with all propriety.

"Oh," Dean said, looking at another photo. "Who's this?" He pointed to a framed picture sitting on a cabinet.

The photo was yellowing, obviously quite old. It was of a little girl sitting on the lap of a young black woman – they had a book open, but were looking up at the camera as the photo was taken. I noticed that the woman was wearing a quincunx necklace.

"That's Rose, when she was a little girl," Sherwin said, picking up the photo and looking affectionately at it.

"Who's that with her?" I asked.

"That's her nanny, Marie. She looked after Rose more than her own mother," Sherwin said knowledgeably. Dean threw me a concerned look and I nodded, finally we'd found an indication as to why there'd be hoodoo floating around in such a grand old house.

* * *

**Sam's Room  
_Next Morning_**

We found Sam in the bathroom, kneeling in front of the toilet, looking miserable. I grimaced at the sight, having been there once or twice myself – especially in the last few months – but at least I hadn't had a choice about it, somehow that made me feel better.

Dean grinned at Sam, raising his eyebrow. There'd been plenty of times this role had been reversed, and dollars to donuts Dean was going to milk it for all he had.

"How you feeling, Sammy?" Dean asked smugly, leaning against the door jam looking down at his brother. Sam groaned, not answering with words.

"I guess mixing whiskey and Jager wasn't such a gangbuster idea, was it?" Dean continued, enjoying this just a little too much. Sam fell silent.

"I'll bet you don't remember a thing from last night, do you?" Dean asked hopefully, looking at me with a smile.

Sam groaned and lifted his head a little. "I can still taste the tequila..." he muttered at us. Dean smiled in relief, happy.

"You know, there's a really good hangover remedy: it's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray," Dean teased and Sam heaved.

"Oh I hate you!" Sam groaned at him.

"I know you do," Dean said with a chuckle. I shook my head and looked over at Sam.

"Hey, so it turns out that when Grandma Rose was a little girl she had a Creole nanny who wore a hoodoo necklace," I said to him.

Sam looked up curious. "So you think she taught Rose hoodoo?"

"Yep," I said with a nod.

"All right," Sam said, standing up with a painful grimace. "I think it's time we talked to Rose, then," he said, looking at us.

I shook my head. "You're not talking to anyone in this condition, go back to bed, Dean and I can handle it," I looked at Dean who was silently laughing at his brother.  
"You can brush your teeth though!" Dean said and Sam rolled his eyes, pushing past us and flopping down on the bed with a groan.

Dean and I approached the door to Susan's private rooms and knocked.

"Hello? Susan?" I said loud enough for her to hear if she were in the room, but not to draw attention from other areas of the hotel. Dean was glancing around at our surroundings. "Clear?" I asked him.

"Mm-hmm," he acknowledged with a nod, standing in front of me and keeping watch. I knelt down in front of the door and picked the lock.

The creepy ass dolls stared at us as we entered the play room behind the door. Dean nodded to a door in the back, crossing to it and finding it open. There was a dimly lit staircase leading up behind the door. We looked at each other, curious, and followed it, taking the stairs to the third level of the house. Another hallway, similar to below was at the top of the stairs, and a door stood open at the end.

There was an old woman sitting in a wheelchair, facing a window where it was raining.

"Mrs Thompson?" I asked quietly. "Mrs Thompson?"

The old lady was shrivelled over, wide-eyed, with messy hair. She looked around frantically but seemed to not be seeing much of anything, trembling.

"Rose?" I said, crouching in front of her, feeling the tightness of my jeans against my stomach. I frowned at the discomfort but dismissed it from my mind. "Mrs Thompson, we're not here to hurt you, it's ok..." I said. Rose just trembled harder, not responding. "Rose?"

I looked up at Dean and then pulled him aside, speaking in hushed tones to him. "Dean, this woman's had a stroke," I told him and he frowned.

"Yeah, but hoodoo's hands-on, I mean, you've got to mix herbs, and chant, and build an altar," he said, looking at me.

"Yeah, so it can't be Rose. Hey, maybe it's not even hoodoo," I said, looking around us.

"Or she could be faking," Dean said, I just stared at him.

"Well what are you gonna do, poke her with a stick?" I asked incredulously. Dean frowned and then nodded, moving toward her. I grabbed his arm, giving him a warning look.

"Dean! You're not gonna poke her with a stick!" I said to him.

"What the hell?! What are you doing in here?" Susan walked into the room, finding us.

"Well, the door was open..." Dean started to make excuses.

"Look at her, she is scared out of her wits. I want you out of my hotel in two minutes or I'm calling the cops!" Susan said. We nodded and left immediately, hurrying to get Sam.

Within minutes we were in the Impala, leaving the hotel.

* * *

We didn't go far. No way were we going to leave Susan alone in the house until we knew what the danger was.

We pulled around the corner and made our way back through the extensive gardens surrounding the house. Susan was outside near the playground and we watched from the trees as the swings started to move on their own as if there were children playing on them. Susan approached the swings, a confused look on her face. The teeter-totter was moving of it's own accord now too, and I watched with a frown. Susan reached out to stop it from moving, starting to look a little scared. Everything in the playground then started to move, spinning faster at alarming paces.

Susan backed away from the playground, panicked, and suddenly the car she had just been packing boxes into, revved it's engine, moving toward her. Susan hesitated, frozen in place as the car made to run her down. We were all on our feet, but Sam reached her first, tackling her to the ground as the car roared past and hit a tree. Dean and I ran to a halt in front of Sam and Susan, now lying on the ground.

"Are you ok?" I asked, looking down at them.

"I think so," Susan said, looking startled.

"Come on, come on." Dean said, helping Susan to her feet. "Let's get inside, let's go." We all went into the house, rounding the corner to the bar, leading Susan to a table.

"Whisky," Susan said simply and I smiled.

"I know the feeling," I said, feeling sorry for myself, what I wouldn't give for a stiff drink these days. I headed toward the bar where there were some bottles of different liquors sitting out.

"What the hell happened out there?" Susan asked, falling into a chair, her eyes sought out ours - she was still reeling from her experience, trying to take it all in. We'd seen it before, where the truth of the situation was undeniable, yet, every part of your brain was screaming at you that it wasn't real, that things like this didn't actually exist.

"You want the truth?" Dean asked. Susan looked at him incredulously.

"Of course," she answered, not realising that she didn't really, she just thought she did.

"Well, at first we thought it was some sort of hoodoo curse, but that out there? That was definitely a spirit." Dean said, spilling the whole theory on her.

I handed Susan a glass of whisky and she looked at us all wide-eyed. "You're insane," she muttered.

"Yeah, it's been said," Dean agreed, deadpan.

"Look, I'm sorry, Susan. We don't exactly have time to ease you into this, but we need to know when your mother had the stroke," Sam said, turning his puppy-dog eyes on.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Susan asked.

"Just answer the question," I said, looking at her.

"About a month ago," Susan answered, looking confused.

"Right before the killings began," Sam said, looking at us.

I glanced over at Dean. "What if Rose was working hoodoo, but not to hurt anyone. Maybe she was protecting them?" I asked, and Dean looked thoughtful.

"She was using the five spot urns to ward off the spirit," Dean said with a nod.

"Right, until she had a stroke and she couldn't do it anymore," Sam conceded.

"I don't believe this," Susan said, shaking her head and looking disbelievingly at us.

"Listen, sister, that car didn't try to run you down by itself, ok?" Dean said a little frustratedly, looking at her. "I mean, I guess it did, technically, but, but the spirit can..." Dean sighed, losing his train of thought, "...forget it."

"Look, believe what you want. But the fact is you and your family are in danger, all right?" I said, looking at Susan. "So you need to clear everybody out of here: your employees, your mother, your daughters, everyone."

"Um, I only have one daughter," Susan said, confused.

"One?" Sam asked, frowning.

"I thought Tyler had a sister named Maggie?" Dean asked, picking up on the issue.

"Maggie's imaginary," Susan said. We all exchanged concerned looks, suddenly there was a great big knot in my stomach.

"Where's Tyler?" I asked. Suddenly it was way too quiet in this big old house.

* * *

Susan led us up to the playroom where the doll house and all the creepy Chucky murder dolls were located.

"Tyler!" Susan called out as we came into the room. The floor was littered with broken dolls. Susan started to panic, looking around frantically.

"Oh my god. Tyler. Tyler! She's not here!" She gasped, spinning around.

"Susan. Tell us what you know about Maggie," Sam asked, looking concerned.

"Uh, not much. Um, Tyler's been talking about her since Mom got sick," Susan said, frowning.

"OK, did you ever know anyone by that name?" Sam asked, pressing for information.

"Uh, no..." Susan answered, shaking her head.

"Think, think, I mean, somebody that could have lived here, might have passed away?" Dean said sternly, there was a level of worry behind his eyes that I hadn't seen in a long time, maybe never.

"Oh my god. My mom. My mom had a sister named Margaret. She barely spoke about her." Susan said.

"Did Margaret happen to die here when she was a kid?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

Susan nodded. "She drowned in the pool." Her eyes widened and her face went pale at the implications of what she had just said.

Dean looked at me with steely eyes, "Come on!" He led the way out of the playroom, heading for the back yard.

We ran through the gardens to the pool house, located at the back of the property, it was old, wrought iron and looked like a giant glass house. Sam and Dean started pounding at the door once we reached it. I peered through the glass windows, it was hard to see as they hadn't been cleaned in some time, but I made out the little girl who was standing on the ledge above the pool.

"Tyler!" I called out to her, but the girl didn't turn.

"Tyler!" Susan yelled, seeing the same thing I did.

"Mommy!" Tyler yelled back, turning to look at us. Suddenly the girl fell forward, as if pushed into the pool, her scream echoing through the pool house.

Dean looked panicked, grabbing Susan by the arms. "Is there another entrance?" He asked shortly.

"Around back," Susan said with a nod.

"All right, let's go," Dean said to me, then looked at Sam. "Keep working."

We ran around the building, Susan right behind us. Dean kicked at the wooden door once we reached it, but it didn't budge, he kicked it again, it stayed shut.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean cursed, looking at me, furious.

There was the sounds of breaking glass then a splash, Sam had finally broken through. Dean lashed out one more time with a kick and the door broke in. We ran inside, through the little room to the pool. Sam was already in the water, and had Tyler in his arms, bringing her to the edge of the pool.

We all knelt next to her, Susan crying and Dean looked alarmed, swallowing hard.

Tyler suddenly coughed up a mouth full of water and spluttered before us, Susan pulled her into a sitting position and she drew in a deep breath for all of us. I sighed, falling to my knees in relief, leaning against Dean who put his arm around me.

"Thank god!" Susan said, and I smiled.

"Mommy!" Tyler whimpered, clinging to Susan.

"Yeah, baby, I'm here," Susan said, holding her tightly.

"Tyler, do you see Maggie anywhere?" I asked, looking at the little girl.

"No, she's gone," Tyler said, looking around.

A short while later we were back in the hotel, heading to Rose's room. Susan held Tyler closely to her as we walked.

"Don't worry, honey, we're leaving in two minutes, we've just got to get Grandma," Susan said to the girl.

"I don't get it, did Maggie just stop?" Dean asked, stopping outside the playroom and turning to us.

"Seems like it," I said, frowning, something didn't feel right about that.

"Well, where the hell did she go?" Dean asked, just as confused.

Upstairs Susan screamed, and we ran the short distance up the stairs to Rose's room. The old lady was slumped in her wheelchair, dead.

* * *

Susan walked over to us from the ambulance, her face looking drawn and haggard.

"Paramedics said it was another stroke. Do you think Margaret could have had something to do with it?" She asked, looking at each of us.

"We don't know," Dean said with a shrug.

"But it's possible, yeah." Sam said with a nod. Susan looked conflicted at this news, chewing at her lower lip. "Susan, I'm sorry," Sam said finally, looking at her.

"You have nothing to apologise for. You've given me everything." Susan said, smiling at Tyler as she came out of the house, skipping down the steps. "Ready to go, kiddo?"

"Yeah," Tyler said, looking happy to be leaving.

"Now Tyler, you're sure Maggie's not around anymore?" I asked, crouching down to look at the little girl.

"I'm sure," she told me. "I'd see her." I nodded and smiled at her, standing up again.

"I guess whatever's going on must be over then," Dean said, looking at me.

A taxi pulled up alongside us and Sam moved to open the door for Susan. "You two take care of yourselves, all right?" He said and Susan hesitated in front of him before pulling him in for a full body hug. Dean smirked at me and I grinned, shaking my head.

"Thank you. All of you," Susan said with a smile, before getting in the taxi. Sam shut the door behind her with a little wave.

Dean sidled up to his brother, a grin on his face. "Think you could have hooked up some MILF action there, bud." Sam threw him an eye roll but Dean wasn't fazed. "I'm serious, I think she liked you!"

"Yeah, that's all she needs," Sam said, shaking his head.

Dean chuckled and started to walk back to the Impala, Sam and I walked beside him.

"Well, you saved the mom, you saved the girl. Not a bad day." Dean said looking on approvingly. "Of course you know, I could have saved them myself, but I didn't want you to feel useless..." he added with a smirk, coming to stand by the driver's side door.

"All right, I appreciate it," Sam said sarcastically with a smile.

"Feels good getting back in the saddle, doesn't it?" Dean asked, looking across the car at Sam.

"Yeah, it does. But it doesn't change what we talked about last night, Dean." Sam said, his voice turning serious. Dean looked uncomfortably at me, and I turned innocent eyes to Sam.

"We talked about a lot of things last night," I said with a smile.

"You know what I mean," Sam said, eyes narrowing.

"You were wasted," Dean said with a sigh.

"But neither of your were." Sam pointed out, looking at us. "And you _promised._"

Dean and I said nothing, simply staring at Sam across the roof of the car. Sam looked at us long and hard before getting into the passenger side of the Impala. My worried gaze met an identical look from Dean, and I felt my mouth twitch in a sad grimace. Dean sighed and leaned in to kiss me on the forehead.

"Come on," he said quietly, getting into the driver's seat. I nodded to myself and climbed into the back seat behind him. Sam was brooding in the front and I reached forward to squeeze Dean's shoulder, getting a smile out of him in the mirror. He started the car and pulled away from the hotel.

I turned to watch it fade from sight as we moved along the road, a big old house that would soon be demolished, ancient things long forgotten. I sighed, it just all seemed so sad. I don't think Sam realised that when he was asking us to sign his death warrant, he was asking us to destroy something that had been decades in the making, a bond that couldn't just be broken like that.

Then again, maybe it was that bond that gave him the courage to admit there was something wrong, and that like always, we were bound to protect him, that was our duty to John, and he knew we would see it through to the end. Whatever it may be.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is _"All In" by _Lifehouse. Yes, it's kind of a love song, but it just seemed right for this episode given the dynamic these three have with each other.

* * *

Thanks to everyone for your comments and weighing in on the gender reveal! Definitely more yes than no, but I'm going to hold off for a little bit at least :)

* * *

I am completely _floored _by a lot of the great comments you shared with me, and so happy you're loving the story! I'll definitely be sticking with writing it – the updates have slowed a little because I'm back at work 3 days a week and I have a retreat I'm also in the middle of helping organise, so life has gotten busy – but I'm hoping to keep the updates to every few days, so don't worry, I'm not going anywhere – I want to take this all the way to the end! I'm too obsessed not to, I think about what's next constantly, I am just enjoying it too much and there are so many storylines wanting to come out!

PS. I'm not sure how already reviewing the question about the gender reveal will affect your ability to review the chapter now, apparently it doesn't let you post again! So please PM me if you have any thoughts on the chapter if you can't review :D

* * *

What's next? Oh yeah, another shapeshifter encounter – plus, the FBI is hot on their heels!

* * *

A little shout-out to my god-daughter Hailey (age 5) - she has a slight obsession with those creepy ass dolls with the eyes like Chucky. Her mother and I call them "murder dolls" after Chucky LOL Hailey thinks this is very bad of us, and she will walk around going "Not murder dolls! My babies!" (this was when she was a little younger, she's not so much into them now she's in school) OMG they are murder dolls though, they are creepy as!

* * *

I'm curious, for all those who have seen Season 8 – where do you think they'll go with Sam in Season 9? Is he going to be permanently damaged from going through the trials? Will he make a fast recovery? What are the ramifications likely to be? I'm wondering because one of the (many possible) story switches would be to put Beth through the trials instead (now that would be a relationship challenge!) but I'm not going to do that if she's going to end up completely damaged/nuts come season 9! Man... it's a good thing I have some time before we have to get to that storyline, because I have NO IDEA what to do there LOL.


	13. Nightshifter

_I woke up with my feet nailed down__  
__And my head moving the speed of sound__  
__Had a dream I was caught in a maze__  
__And I couldn't find my way back out__  
__Some were born to move mountains around__  
__And some to rot away in jail__  
__I get an itch and when I am scratching__  
__Everything can go to hell_

_And how far is halfway there?__  
__I didn't see you on the trail__  
__Did almost become good enough?__  
__Should a good life be so hard won?__  
__Is that what our dreams have become?_

* * *

**NIGHTSHIFTER**

* * *

_**Beth's POV  
**_**  
Milwaukee, Wisconsin**_**  
**_

Sam and I were interviewing the Manager of a jewelry store, posing as FBI agents. The manager was in shock over the apparent robbery then suicide of one of his sales people, and we were just trying to get to the bottom of it all.

"Helena was our head buyer. She ... she was family, you know? She said it herself, every year at the Christmas party. She said we were the only family she had." The Manager said to Sam, who was turning on the sympathetic puppy-dog look.

"So there were never any signs that she'd do something like this?" Sam asked, and the Manager shook his head at us both.

"No. Still can't believe it, even now." He looked contemplative, thinking about what to say. "That night, Helena came back to the store after closing. Cleaned out all the display cases, and the safe. Edgar — our night watchman — he caught her in the act. He didn't know what to do, he'd known her for years. He called me at home."

"And that's when she took his gun?" I asked, looking up from my notes.

"She shot him in the face. I heard him die. Over the phone." The manager said. He looked distressed, genuinely confused as to why it was his employee had committed the crimes that she had.

"Any idea what her motive could have been?" Sam asked

"What motive? It makes no sense. Why steal all those diamonds, all that jewelry, and then what? Just dump it somewhere, just hide it, and then go home and..." the manager's voice faded a bit as my attention was drawn to Dean, standing at another counter, talking to an attractive young woman.

She wasn't shy about being forward with him, not that I could blame her, he looked good on a bad day, and well, on days when he was wearing a suit, Dean was pretty much irresistible to anyone – especially when he turned on the charm.

Which he seemed to be doing now, I frowned a bit shook my head. Sam had this interview under wraps, I was going to just wander over and have a listen in on Dean's... interview.

"She killed herself?" Dean was asking as I loitered by a jewellery case, listening in.

"Well, the cops said she dropped the hair dryer in the bath and fried herself. They should know, right?" The girl asked, looking intently at Dean.

"Yeah..." Dean said with a nod. "Well, thank you, Frannie, I think that's all I need." Dean started to walk away, catching my eye as he saw me standing a few feet away. He smiled and then paused when Frannie spoke again.

"Really? Because I've got more. You know," she looked around slyly before leaning toward Dean, "...if you wanted to interview me sometime. In private?" I raised an eyebrow and snorted. That suit worked every time.

Dean grinned, looking back at me with a slight swagger before turning back to Frannie. "Yeah. Yeah, I think that's a good idea. You're a true patriot, you really are. Why don't you write your number down there for me?" Dean said to her, I crossed my arms over my chest and watched, shaking my head.

A few weeks ago I'd have been a nervous wreck and in tears watching this scene unfold before me, I was feeling a lot more like my level-headed self this past week though, and it wasn't a moment too soon either because I was just about over the emotional roller-coaster ride I'd been on for the last few months.

Dean took the number from Frannie and turned back to me, crossing over to stand close, but not too close. We were supposed to be colleagues, not lovers.

"Hey there Scully," Dean said, looking down at me. I raised my eyebrow.

"I thought Sam was Scully," I replied, my mouth twitching into a smile.

"Not anymore, I'm making an executive decision... Skinner just isn't doing it for me." Dean said looking at me with an amused expression.

"Well, apparently Scully wasn't doing it for you back there either," I said, inclining my head toward Frannie who was watching us confer.

Dean snorted and brandished the phone number in front of me. "Fifth one this month, puts me way in the lead," he said, referring to our competition on who could collect the most numbers in any given month.

"Really Dean?" I asked, shaking my head and smirking. "We're still playing that game, it's hardly a level playing field in my current condition." I said, gesturing down to my newly formed stomach, starting to protrude out. I'd pulled my jacket closed a little and cinched it at the waist with a wide belt – it was still kind of obvious that I was pregnant though.

Dean looked around and led me to one of the display cases, turning me to face it, leaning against my back and pointing at a piece of jewelry as if he were showing me something pertinent to our case.

Instead he took the opportunity to run his hand down over my stomach and place a kiss behind my ear. "You're still gorgeous, apple-pie, so quit your whining. You could get anyone's number in this room and you know it." I frowned.

"I'm not sure I'd want the number of someone who wanted to date a woman who was four months pregnant." I said, crossing my arms.

"You think I want her number?" Dean asked, nodding back at Frannie, who was still watching him like a hawk, but couldn't see much with his back turned to her.

I raised my eyebrow at him, questioningly. He shook his head. "It's just a game Beth, one that you started if I do remember rightly..." he said, smirking at me. "You're just a sore loser," he added and I smiled.

"You might be right," I said, looking up at him, our faces just inches apart as we spoke. "But I'm the one carrying around the next karate world champion inside of me, so I get to call hiatus any time I want," I said with a grin.

Dean rolled his eyes, but didn't disagree. He handed me Frannie's number and stared down at me for a moment. "Sore loser," he said again and then he smiled, pulling back to start walking over to Sam.

"So you never saw the security camera footage yourself, then?" Sam was asking the manager as Dean and I joined him.

"No. The police, they took all the tapes, first thing," the Manager said to us.

"Yeah," Dean said, raising an eyebrow. "Of course they did," he said, looking at Sam, annoyed.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Impala**

It was dark, and had been raining by the time we finished up with the interviews at the jewelry store. We were now following up a lead from a previous heist, also linked to our case.

"Five, this is it," Sam said, nodding to the house on our right, Dean pulled up the car, still fuming over the police involvement in the case.

"Friggin' cops," Dean muttered, not for the first time in the car ride over.

"They're just doing their job, Dean," Sam said, looking at his brother.

"No, they're doing our job, only they don't know it, so they suck at it." Dean said, climbing out of the car, we joined him. "Talk to me about this bank."

"Uh, Milwaukee National Trust, it was hit about a month ago," Sam said, joining Dean on the pavement.

"Same M.O. As the jewelry store?" Dean asked.

"Yep," I said, looking up at the house. "Inside job, long time employee, the never-in-a-million-years type. He robs the bank, then goes home and supposedly commits suicide." I frowned, none of that made any sense whatsoever, unless you started to put it in creature terms, because their motives were rarely the same as those of a human.

"The guy, Resnick, he was the security guard on duty?" Dean asked, looking at Sam and starting to walk up to the house. Sam trailed behind him, and I brought up the rear.

"Yeah. He was actually beaten unconscious by the teller who heisted the place," Sam answered with a nod as we reached the porch.

"God..." Dean muttered.

"Yeah..." Sam agreed, knocking on the glass door that was in front of us. "Mr Resnick? Ronald Resnick?" Sam called out. A bright floodlight turned on, shining right in our faces. I flinched and reached up to cover my eyes.

"Son of a b..." Dean swore, trailing off as a young man came to the door. He was carrying a few extra pounds, _not unlike myself, _I thought ruefully, and had shoulder length wavy brown hair. He stood a few yards away from the door, peering out at us through the glass.

"FBI, Mr Resnick," Sam said, holding a hand up to the light. Ronald walked up to the door and looked us over.

"Let me see the badge," Ronald said, looking at us intently.

I rolled my eyes and let the boys handle it. Sam and Dean pulled out their badges and slapped them against the screen door together. Ronald walked up to the door and squinted at the badges carefully before stepping back.

"I already gave my statement to the police," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, listen Ronald, uh . . . just some things about your statement we wanted to get some clarification on." Dean said, putting his badge away.

"You read it?" Ronald asked.

"Sure did," Dean said back at him.

"And you want to listen to what I've got to say?" He asked, surprised.

"Well, that's why we're here." Dean said, and it was true. Ronald's story was nothing short of fantastical to read, but only in the normal world. It was like gold to the supernatural hunters out there, sticking out like a sore thumb, a testament to something bigger happening than a simple bank robbery.

"Well. Come in," Ronald said, opening the door. He led us through a narrow hallway to a cluttered room.

"None of the cops ever called me back. Not after I told them what was really going on. Uh, they all thought I was crazy." I looked around at the walls, they were covered with alien photos, and other assorted conspiracy theory articles and information. It was vaguely reminiscent of one of our hunting set-ups, photos of people and aliens, linked together with string, and so on.

"First off, Juan Morales never robbed the Milwaukee National Trust, okay? That I guarantee. See, we and Juan were friends, he used to come back to the bank on my night shifts and we'd play cards." Ronald said, turning to look at us.

"So you let him into the bank that night, after hours?" I asked, looking over at him.

"The thing I let into the bank . . . wasn't Juan." Ronald said, looking at me. "I mean, it had his face, but it wasn't his face. Uh, every detail was perfect, but too perfect, like, you know, like if a dollmaker made it, like I was talking to a big Juan-doll."

"A Juan-doll?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Look. This wasn't the only time this happened. Okay?" He said, handing me a folder. "There was this jewelry store, too. And the cops, and you guys, you just won't see it!" Ronald looked at us anxiously. I looked into the folder, there were a number of newspaper clippings, research printouts, photos, and more. It looked exactly like the kind of work up we'd done on the jewelry heist case.

"Both crimes were pulled by the same thing," Ronald said confidently.

"What's that, Mr Resnick?" Sam asked, glancing over my shoulder at the file.

Ronald picked up a copy of a magazine and held it to his chest. It was called _Fortean Times _and the headline at the bottom read _Birth of the Cybermen. _

"Chinese have been working on 'em for years." Ronald said, looking at us all. "And the Russians before that. Part men, part machine. Like the Terminator. But the kind that can change itself, make itself look like other people."

Dean smirked, "Like the one from T2?"

"Exactly! See, so not just a robot, more of a, uh, a Mandroid," Ronald said with a nod.

"A Mandroid?" Sam asked, sceptical.

"And what makes you so sure about this, Ronald?" I asked, looking over at him. I mean, he seemed fairly lusic and with it, not too crazy for a conspiracy theorist.

Ronald held up a finger, smiling at us wildly. He crossed to a section of the room that housed a TV and VHS player. He inserted a tape that read _MNT Camera 4 – Juan _into the machine and looked back at us.

"See, I made copies of all the security tapes. I knew once the cops got them they'd be buried," he said, then he pointed at something on the screen. "here," he said.

Ronald fast forwarded the tape for a while, then paused the tape. "Now watch. Watch. Watch him, watch, watch! See, look! There it is! You see? He's got the laser eyes!" Ronald said excitedly.

He'd paused on a still shot of Juan, facing the camera, and there was a light-flare in his eyes, just like the one we'd seen in Zack's eyes last year when a shapeshifter had been on the loose, killing innocent women in their homes after torturing them. It had captured us at one stage, even assuming Dean's appearance, and it had been a frightening experience. I shared a knowing look with Sam and Dean, and they nodded, thinking the same thing as I was. We had another shapeshifter on our hands, one who had turned violent and murderous.

"Cops said it was some kind of reflected light. Some kind of "camera flare". Okay? Ain't no damn camera flare. They say I'm a post-trauma case. So what? Bank goes and fires me, it don't matter!" Ronald said, starting to rant about the vidoe.

"The mandroid is, is still out there. The law won't hunt this thing down, I'll do it myself. You see, this thing, it, it kills the real person, makes it look like a suicide, then it sorta like, morphs into that person. Cases the job for a while until it knows the take is fat, and then it finds its opening. Now, these robberies, they're, they're grouped together." He gestured to a map on the wall.

"So I figure the mandroid is holed up somewhere in the middle, underground, maybe. I don't know, maybe that's where it recharges its, uh, mandroid batteries." Dean looked impressed, nodding with a slight smile at the work Ronald had done to get this far on the case. Sam and I stared at the map.

"Okay. I want you to listen very carefully. Because I'm about to tell you the God's honest truth about all of this. There's no such thing as Mandroids. There's nothing evil or inhuman going on out there. Just people. Nothing else, you understand?" Sam said, towering over Ronald.

I threw him a confused look, and Dean looked as if he was going to say something, though startled at Sam's sudden statement.

"The laser eyes!" Ronald said desperately to us to explain his theory.

"Just a camera flare, Mr. Resnick. Look, I know you don't want to believe this. But your friend Juan robbed the bank and that's it." Sam said cruelly, and Ronald looked gutted.

"Get out of my house! Now!" Ronald shouted at him.

Sam looked at him calmly. "Sure. First things first," he said and I looked at Dean who was appearing just as confused at Sam's actions as I was. Sam stepped up to Ronald, intimidating him. Then we were leaving a few minutes later, video tapes in hand, Sam having talked him into handing them over.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Motel Room**

It was just getting dark when we got back to the motel room, my feet were swollen from the amount of standing around we'd done all day pretending to be Feds, and I just wanted a nice, long soak in the big corner spa bath we'd ensured was in the room. I started the water running as soon as I got in the door, and Dean started stripping out of his suit, to put on regular clothing.

"Man, that has got to be the kicker, straight up," Dean said loosening his tie and then pulling it over his head, tossing it on the bed before starting to unbutton the shirt he was wearing. "I mean, you tell that poor son of a bitch that, what did you say, _remand_ the tapes that he copied? Classified evidence of an ongoing investigation?" He snorted, shrugging out of his shirt and reaching for long-sleeved t-shirt, pulling it over his head.

Sam was at the VCR player, putting the tape in. I watched all this from the bathroom doorway while the water ran.

"What are you pissed at me or something?" Sam asked, sitting down to watch the tape.

"No," Dean said, grabbing a can of beer out of the fridge and cracking it. "I just think it's a little creepy how good of a Fed you are. I mean, come on, we could have at least thrown the guy a bone. He did some pretty good leg work here."

"Mandroid?" Sam asked, looking sceptical.

"Well, except for the mandroid part." Dean said with a shrug. "I liked him. He's not that different from you or me, people think we're crazy." I smiled at that, thinking about Dean running around telling people there were mandroids out to get us, now that could be funny.

"Yeah, except he's not a hunter, Dean." Sam said seriously. "He's just a guy who stumbled on to something real. If he were to go up against this thing he'd get torn apart." He looked over at me, and I chewed on my bottom lip. "Better to stay in the dark, and stay alive."

Dean paused, taking another drink. "Yeah, I guess," he conceded, not real happy about it. He sat down at the table, and placed some tracing paper over a set of blueprints, marking out a trail with red pen. Sam paused the video on the flaring eyes in the video, pointing at it.

"Shapeshifter. Just like back in St Louis. Same retinal reaction to video," Sam said, and I walked over to look at the video, a shudder passing through my body.

"Eyes flare at the camera. I hate those friggin' things." Dean muttered.

Sam turned to stare at Dean. "You think I don't?"

"Yeah, well, one didn't turn into you and frame you for murder... not to mention what he was going to do to Beth!" I frowned, not happy to be reminded of some of the things that had been said to me by the shapeshifter when he was in Dean's "skin".

"Well..." I said quietly, "if this shifter's anything like the one we killed in Missouri..."

"...then Ronald was right," Dean finished for me. "they like to lay up underground, preferably the sewer, and all the robberies have been connected so far, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah," Sam said.

"With the sewer main layout," Dean said, taking the tracing paper he'd been working on and laying it over the map of the city underneath.

"There's one more bank lined up on the same sewer main." He said, looking up at us. I sighed, looked like I wasn't getting my bath after all.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**City Bank of Milwaukee**

The bank was open late, it was still a hive of activity when we arrived. I was still dressed in my suit, posing as a supervisor for my two security technicians – Dean grimaced at the uniform Sam had them wearing and I chuckled.

A security guard was leading us down the main hall toward the security room. "Well, we haven't had any flags go up on our system yet," he commented to me.

"No, this is a glitch in the overall grid, we just need to make sure the branch monitors are all working as they should be," I said with a smile. The guard looked back at me and nodded.

"Well better to be safe than sorry, I guess," he said in a friendly tone.

"That's the plan," Dean said from behind me, looking around.

The guard opened the door to an observation room and I stepped in ahead of him. There were several TV screens showing security footage of different areas in the bank.

"All righty. You guys need anything else?" He asked, looking at me.

"Oh, no, we'll be in and out before you know it, just a routine check," I assured him.

"Okie-dokie," the guard said with a big beaming smile, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

"I like him," Dean grinned at me. "He says 'Okie-dokie,'" I smiled.

"What if he's the shifter?" Sam said, killing the mood.

Dean frowned. "Well, then we follow him home and put a silver bullet through his chestplate."

He pulled a chair over for me to sit on, moving to stand behind me, hands on my shoulders as Sam took the chair next to me. Dean started to knead at the knots in my neck and I almost moaned out loud it felt so good, I was so tense!

"OK," Dean said, "did anyone remember to bring the popcorn?" He joked, brushing his hand along my neck, still rubbing my sore muscles. I chuckled and shook my head, stakeouts with Dean usually always involved some sort of food.

* * *

An hour later and I starting to fall asleep, I got up and started to pace in the room.I didn't have the stamina to go all night like the boys did any more, but be damned if I was going back to the motel on my own either. Dean must have felt just as nervous about letting me go off on my own, because he hadn't mentioned it, preferring to keep me with them for the duration of the stakeout.

My eyes caught sight of a complimentary coffee machine for customers in the lobby, so I decided to take a walk down to check it out.

"I'll be back, I'm going for coffee... you want some?" I said. Dean glanced up from where he was checking out the ass of a woman on the screen, looking slightly guilty.

"Uh, no... no thanks. Maybe you should stay here, huh?" He said, looking worried.

I shrugged, "We don't even know if anything is here Dean, no one has shown up on screen yet. Maybe we jumped the gun on this?"

Dean looked thoughtful, and Sam was nodding in agreement, he didn't seem to think we were getting anywhere, either. I gave Dean a little finger wave and opened the door, "I won't be long." He nodded and turned back to the screen.

I wandered down the hallway to the main lobby, there were still quite a few employees and clients around, which I found odd for what must have been almost 7 o'clock at night, but then, this was a financial large bank, with lots of clients with different needs.

Suddenly there was the pitter patter of someone half running down the stairs and I looked up to see Ronald scampering down the stairs, assault rifle in hand. He stopped when he got to the bottom, and raised the gun in the air firing twice. I flinched at the noise and dropped my coffee on the floor, reaching instinctively to the small of my back for my gun... which wasn't there, we'd gone without weapons for this one. Dammit.

"This is not a robbery!" Ronald yelled. "Everybody on the floor now!" He fired again in the air when people didn't move immediately, the second lot of shots got everyone panicking, they started screaming and ducking for cover.

"Get down, dammit! Come on! On the floor, on the floor! In the middle!" Ronald yelled at everyone, trying to herd us all. Everyone moved out from behind desks and crouched on the floor by the counters. "On the floor in the middle! In the middle, on the floor, come on!" Ronald was shouting frantic instructions to everyone.

I raised my hands in the air and moved slowly toward him, biding my time, I didn't want to be too close to him, he was waving that weapon around a little too erratically to risk getting caught in panicked cross fire, but I also wanted to be nearby in case an opportunity presented itself to intervene. I crouched near one of the bank tellers and tried to hide my face with my hair a little, hoping Ronald wouldn't recognise me and get panicked – chances are in his state, he'd shoot me thinking I was the mandroid just because he'd seen me once already today. I wasn't so lucky.

"I know you!" Ronald said, looking at me and I grimaced, turning a smile to him.

"Look... Ronald..." I started, trying to placate him.

"What are you doing here? Get over here on the ground!" Ronald said, interrupting me. I stood and came over to kneel in front of him, he was pointing the gun near my chest and I held my breath, worried he might accidentally shoot me more than anything in his highly strung state.

Dean and Sam came walking very quickly into the area, Dean's eyes were flashing angrily at Sam, I'm sure there had to have been a conversation as they came down about Sam's desire to keep the guns back in the car. His eyes sought out mine and checked me over, his breath catching when he saw me on the ground in front of Ronald.

"Hey, buddy," Dean said, turning his attention to Ronald. "Calm down. Just calm down."

"What the – you! Get on the floor, now!" Ronald said, recognising Dean and Sam from earlier.

"Ok, we're doing that. Just don't shoot anybody... especially her." Dean said, looking at me and starting to kneel with Sam, inching a little closer my way.

"I knew it. As soon as you two left. You ain't FBI, who are you? Who are you working for, huh? The men in black?" Sam rolled his eyes at that comment and Dean grinned, he loved the _Men in Black. _"You working for the mandroid?" Ronald asked when they didn't answer.

"We're not working for the mandroid!" Sam said, exasperated.

"You, shut up! I ain't talking to you, I don't like you!" Ronald yelled and Sam, and Dean looked smugly at his brother. Sam just nodded, putting his hands in the air, falling silent.

Ronald gestured to a middle-aged man and pointed to Dean and Sam. "Get on 'em. Frisk them down, make sure they got no weapons on them. Go!" The man frisked them both, finding a knife in Dean's boot. I silently cursed, thinking I should have thought of that.

"Now what have we here?" Ronald said as the man handed him the knife.

Sam looked at Dean rolling his eyes. "What? I'm not just gonna walk in here naked!" Dean muttered.

"Get back there," Ronald said to the hostage, taking the knife and dropping it in the deposit box near him, it clattered to the bottom and Dean looked pained, that was an expensive silver knife.

"No, no, no, no, no," Dean sighed, wincing. He turned back to Ronald. "We know you don't want to hurt anybody. That's exactly what's gonna happen if you keep waving that cannon around, why don't you let these people go?"

"No! I already told you. If nobody's gonna stop this thing, then I've got to do it myself," Ronald said, looking at Dean.

"Hey, we believe you!" Dean said, trying to win him over. "That's why we're here."

"You don't believe me. Nobody believes me! How could they?" He asked, looking sad and abandoned.

"Come here," Dean said quietly, waving him over with a nod of his head. He attempted to approach Ronald from a friendly manner, anxious to get across to the man that this was not the way to bring down the _mandroid. _

"What?" Ronald said, confused. "No!"

"You're holding the gun, boss, you're calling the shots. I just want to tell you something. Come here," Dean said, not taking his eyes of Ronald.

Ronald approached Dean cautiously and leaned in.

"It's the bank manager," Dean said quietly to the man, just loud enough for me to hear as well. My eyes widened, clearly they'd spotted the shapeshifter on screen while I'd come down for coffee.

"What?" Ronald asked, looking confused.

"Why do you think we've got these getups, huh? We've been monitoring the cameras in the back. We saw the bank manager, we saw his eyes." Dean said.

"His laser eyes?" Ronald asked, looking anxious.

"Yes." Dean said then shook his head. "No. No! No, look we're running out of time ok? We've got to find him before he changes into someone else."

"Like I'm gonna listen to you. You're a damn liar." Ronald said angrily to him. Dean started to stand and I closed my eyes, not wanting to watch.

"I'll shoot you! Get down!" Ronald yelled at him.

"Take me. Okay? Take me with you, take me as a hostage. But we've gotta act fast. Because the longer we just sit here the more time he has to change." Dean said, trying to reason with him.

"Look at him Ronald, he's not kidding, we believe you, you're not crazy. There really is something inside this bank." I said to him and he looked down at me, conflicted.

"All right. You come with me," he said to Dean. "But everyone else gets in the vault!"

He waved us all to our feet and ushered us toward the vault, herding us in like cattle. "Come on, move, move! Move, move!" Ronald said, waving the gun around.

Sam and I were last to enter, hands still in the air. I looked at Sam, worried, and dropped my hands, running one across my face.

"You lock it up," Ronald said to Dean, who started to move the heavy door, looking in at us.

"It's ok, everyone. Just stay cool," Dean said, his eyes meeting mine with an apologetic look and a shrug as he slammed the door shut. There was the sickening sound of the vault handle being spun around, we were trapped. I leaned against Sam feeling a little anxious.

A young auburn haired girl named Sherry was staring after Dean.

"Who is that man?" She asked in awe.

"He's my brother," Sam said quietly, putting his arm around my shoulders and looking down at me.

"He is so brave!" Sherry said, Sam and I both rolled our eyes at the same time, shaking our heads. Great... just great.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

As soon as I got a chance, I shrugged out of that ridiculous security jumpsuit Sammy had me wearing. It was expensive, so I threw it over my shoulder, but was grateful to be back in my jeans and shirt. Ronald was conducting a routine search of all the offices in the bank.

He led the way into a series of offices, gun at the ready.

"Check behind the desk," I said to him, nodding at where I wanted him to go. I moved to check the back room and heard Ronald yell and hit the ground. I spun back into the room, and then I saw it. Lying next to Ronald on the floor was a slimy piece of skin. I grimaced. Ronald saw it, screaming and jumping back, pointing his gun at it.

"What the hell is that?!" Ronald exclaimed.

I turned the lamp toward the pile of skin, sighing as I crouched down. "Ahhh Great," I muttered. I looked at Ronald, willing him to get the severity of our situation. "When it changes form it sheds it's old skin. So now it could be anybody again."

Ronald picked up a piece of skin and smelled it. "It's so, it's so weird. Its robot skin is so lifelike," he said.

I felt myself get a little frustrated at the poor guy, he was trying, he really was but he just wasn't working with a full deck of cards.

"Okay, let's get something straight. It's not a mandroid. It's a shapeshifter." I said to him.

"Shapeshifter?" Ronald asked, confused.

"Yeah. I mean, it's human, more or less. Has human drives, and in this case it's money. But it generates its own skin, it can shape it to match someone else's features, you know, taller, shorter, male," I explained to him.

"So it, it kills someone and then takes their place." Ronald asked, trying to get his head around it.

"Kills them, doesn't kill them, I don't think it really matters." I said, searching around in the desk.

"What are you doing?" Ronald asked.

I found what I was looking for in the desk drawer, a letter opener, and it lifted it up to examine it. Silver. I sighed with relief.

"Nice," I said, looking at Ronald. "You remember the old werewolf stories? Pretty much came from these guys. Silver's the only thing I've seen that hurts them." I told him, heading for the door. Ronald hesitated and I looked back at him. "Come on Ronald!" The man grimaced at the skin, but then followed me with a big grin on his face, it was as if he was having a the time of his life on this hunt. I smirked, thinking about how many times I'd been like that, and I couldn't say I blamed him, at times a hunt could be exhilarating.

Ronald was still chuckling to himself as we walked down the hallway. I turned to look at him.

"What are you nuts?" I asked.

"That's just it. I'm not nuts. I mean, I was so scared that I was losing my marbles. But this is real! I mean, I, I was right! Except for the mandroid thing. Thank you." He looked at me all doe-eyed and I cringed at the chick-flick moment.

"Yeah, don't mention it," I said to him, and I meant it... really, _don't mention it._

Suddenly the power cut out and a few emergency lights clicked on.

"Dammit! No, no, no, no, no..." I said looking around, trying to gauge our situation.

"What? What is it?" Ronald asked, looking startled.

"They cut the power. Probably their way of saying hi," I said to him.

"Who?" Ronald asked.

"The cops," I said matter-of-factly to him, who the hell did he think I was talking about?

"The cops?!" Ronald asked, looking shocked.

I stopped to look at him, fighing back the urge to hit him in the face. "Well, you weren't exactly a smooth criminal about this, Ron. I mean, you didn't even secure the security guard. He probably called them." I pointed out.

"Well, I, I didn't think to..." Ronald started to explain.

"All right, hang on, hang on," I said shushing him, "Let's just take a breath here for a second, all right? They — they've probably got us surrounded. They've cut the power to the cameras so there's no way of telling who the shapeshifter is." I said, taking a breath. "It's not looking good, Ron."

Ronald flinched upon hearing a noise, bringing his gun up.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, looking up.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

Sherry had been harping on for the last half hour about how _wonderful _Dean was, and it was starting to drive me nuts. I bit my lip as she continued to follow Sam around the vault, the latter looked slightly uncomfortable, rolling his eyes at me occasionally.

"Has your brother always been so, um, wonderful? I mean, staring down that gun. And you know, the way he played right into that psycho's crazy head, telling him what he wanted to hear, I mean... he's like a real hero, or, or something."

I thought about vomiting on her, I really did, but didn't really have it in me.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam agreed with Sherry, trying to get away from her.

The door opened to reveal Dean, now carrying a handgun, and I looked up at him from where I was sitting on the floor, back against the wall.

"Oh my god, you saved us! You saved us!" Sherry exclaimed excitedly at him.

Dean looked her and raised his eyebrow. "Actually, I just found a few more," he said, pulling back to wave others into the vault. "Come on everybody, let's go, let's go."

Sherry looked devastated at him, I just sighed. Dean looked at me all of a sudden, frowning when he saw me on the floor. He came in to kneel and look at me.

"You ok?" He asked, and I shook my head negatively. It was really hot in the vault now the power had gone out, and I was feeling sick.

"What are you doing?" Sherry asked him, looking at him anxiously.

Dean ignored her and helped me to my feet. "Come on," he said, leading me to the door by the arm. "Sam, look, uh, Ronald and I need to talk to you," Dean said and Sam moved to follow us.

Dean looked apologetically at everyone back in the vault and then closed the door again.

"It's shed its skin again," Dean said as soon as we were all alone. "We don't know when – it could be in the halls, it could be in the vault."

"Great." I muttered, looking around at the darkened bank, seeing lights flashing outside. "You know, Dean, you are wanted by the police," I said, starting to feel a little panicked. Dean looked at me, trying to hide the worry in his eyes.

"Yeah." He said with a smile that belied his true feelings. I swallowed, this wasn't good – I had visions of raising our baby on my own while Dean rotted on death row for the next thirty years.

"Even if we do find this damn thing, how the hell are we gonna get out of here?" Sam asked furtively.

Dean paused and looked at him. "Well, one problem at a time. All right, I'm gonna do a sweep of the whole place, see if we can find any stragglers. Once we get everyone together we've got to play a little game of find-the-freak, so . . . here." He handed Sam a silver letter opener. "Found another one of these for you. Now stay here, make sure Ronald doesn't hurt anybody, okay? Help him manage the situation."

"Help him manage? Are you insane?" Sam asked loudly. Dean looked past Sam at Ronald who was staring at the three of us now, looking anxious. Dean held both thumbs up at him and smiled reassuringly at the man.

"Look, I know this isn't going the way we wanted..." Dean said quietly to Sam.

"Understatement!" Sam yelled back at him.

"Sam!" I said, frowning, earning me a glare.

"If we invite the cops in right now, Ronald gets arrested, we get arrested, the shifter gets away, probably never find it again, ok?" Dean argued, and he was right.

Ronald was peering out the window, standing in plain view and I rolled my eyes. Sam gestured at him in exasperation.

"Ronald!" I said to him urgently. "Get out of the light!" The man turned and looked at us, then slunk into the shadows.

"Seriously?!" Sam asked, angry.

"Yeah, Ron's game plan was a bad plan..." Dean said, "I mean, it was a bit of a crazy plan, but right now crazy's the only game in town, okay?"

Dean slapped Sam on the shoulder and went to leave. Sam sighed, leaning back against a desk and rolling his eyes. I didn't even wait, following straight after Dean.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked me as I caught up with him.

"You think I'm gonna stay there with Rambo? He's as likely to shoot me by accident than be of any help," I said with a raised eyebrow.

Dean looked at me and sighed. "Yeah well, going after a shapeshifter right now isn't a great idea either," he said.

"Well option three is go back into the vault, and if I do that I am going to vomit all over miss pretty in there, all right? I don't think anyone is gonna like that!" I said, frowning at him.

Dean sighed and nodded. "All right! OK! Just... look can you stay here with Sam, please?" He said, uncharacteristically asking me instead of giving an order. It stayed me, and I paused, looking at him – his eyes were full of worry and I could see I was a major reason for it. I swallowed and nodded my agreement.

Dean smiled, reaching in to kiss me quickly, pressing his forehead to mine briefly before heading off down one of the dark hallways.

I turned to Sam, sighing. "We better give these people some air, it was really sticky in there," I said and he nodded, walking over to the vault.

He eased the door back, peeking into the vault. "I'm going to leave this open. Give you guys some fresh air, all right?" Sam said, "But no one leaves this vault."

The phone on one of the desks started ringing and Ronald spun around looking panicked.

"I don't understand, why are you helping him?" Sherry asked Sam from inside the vault.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Sam answered with a sigh.

Ronald walked over and picked up the phone before I had a chance to stop him.

"Hello?" He said.

The okie-dokie guard from earlier was in the vault and looking pained. "I think I gotta get out of here!" He exclaimed, looking for all intents and purposes like he was going to have a heart-attack.

"Look, I'm very sorry, but you're just going to have to stay put, all right?" Sam said, I was walking over to join hm.

"What? What do you mean, demands?" Ronald said into the phone.

"Ronald! Hang up!" I instructed him, but he ignored me.

"No, I, I'm not a bank robber, I..." Ronald stuttered under the line of questioning from the police.

"I've got to really get out of here," the guard said and I glanced back at Sam.

"Sir, you can't leave!" I heard Sam say and I felt conflicted.

"Kind of a crime fighter, I guess." Ronald said to the police negotiator.

"Ronald!" I exclaimed reaching for the phone, but he stepped away from me, listening to the other end.

A couple of men were helping the guard to the door, he was now still breathing very heavily, struggling to stand.

"Look..." Sam tried to reason and I started back to the vault.

"No, I'm acting alone," I heard Ronald say and I at him, slamming down the phone, glaring at him.

"Ronald? The less the cops know, the better!" I said, frustrated. This man was totally going to get us all killed, that was if I didn't kill him with my own bare hands!

"Hey!" A man called out to us. "I think this dude's having a heart attack!"

I frowned, rejoining Sam who was looking pained.

"Great, could be our guy, could be a trick," he said to me.

"You just going to let the man die?"

"No one's dying in here!" Sam said and sighed. "Call them," he said to me, then looked at Ronald. "Cover her!" He instructed Rambo.

I crossed back to the phone and picked up the handset, finding the line still open.

"Hello?" I said in to the phone, listening.

"_Can you tell me how many hostages this guy's taken?" _A voice came back at me.

"Look, one of the people could be having a heart attack, you need to send in a paramedic," I said, glancing over at Sam, he looked grim.

"Look, ma'am we're going to..." The man tried to argue with me and I felt my patience slip.

"Just send in the paramedic, ok?! And don't try anything else! Please."

"Paramedic?" The man with the guard said. "We don't have time for that, man!" He looked up Sam.

"Listen, I'm sorry ok? I am. But nobody's getting out," Sam said.

"He's dying right in front of you," the man said to Sam and my brother looked conflicted.

The man was still holding the guard when Dean got back to us. The guard was starting to look panicked and was breathing painfully.

"Come on man, you've got to open up the door. We've got to get him out of here," he argued with us.

Ronald cocked the rifle and aimed it at them. "Both of you stay where you are."

Dean crossed the room, whispering inaudibly to Sam. Sam nodded and went to the vault.

"You know, Ronald? He's right, we've got to get this man outside. Come on. I've got you." Sam said, taking the guard from the man who had been helping him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll help you," the man offered, looking desperate.

"Oh, I got him, it's cool. Thanks," Sam said with a smile and nod.

Sam removed the guard from the vault and Dean glared at the man who had been helping the guard. I realised by Dean's body language that he recognised this man, and it had to be the shapeshifter, my thoughts were confirmed when Dean asked him to step outside.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" Dean asked him. He shrugged, walking toward the front of the vault.

"Hey, you got the gun, man. I mean, whatever." He looked casually at Dean but when he got close enough he attacked Dean, knocking him to the ground and running into a dark hallway.

"Dean!" I called out, helping him to his feet. Dean swore and started to move off after him.

"Stop! Come back here!" Ronald shouted, racing after the shapeshifter with the gun pointed. It put him in the open and I heard Sam yelling across the room at Ronald almost right away.

"Get down! Now!" There was a laser target at Ronald's back and then somebody fired, taking him out, hitting Ronald squarely in the chest. Dean ducked behind a safe, pulling me with him and I fell into his lap, reeling as Ronald fell to the floor. Ronald slumped to his knees and then crumpled, hitting the floor dead.

In the panic of Ronald getting shot the hostages all ran out of the vault. Dean was creeping toward Ronald behind another low wall near where he'd fallen, I was right beside him, staying low. Sam ducked down near us and handed Dean the key to the padlock out front.

"Here. Take care of the guard, I'm going after the shifter," Sam said and Dean looked a little shocked, not even bothering to argue. Dean crawled over toward Ronald, keeping low behind the benches in the room.

"Sorry Ron, you did a real good job tracking this thing, you really did," he muttered, looking up at me. He picked up the fallen rifle that he'd been moving toward, looking around, and then ran off toward the guard.

* * *

I looked hesitantly out toward all the police vehicles as Dean brought the guard around to the door. Using the key Sam had given Dean, I unchained the locks and opened the inner doors.

Dean pushed the guard ahead of him. "Everything's going to be all right," he told the man who was panting and in a lot of pain.

The doors swung open and I stepped back into the shadows. "No, don't shoot! Don't shoot! Please!" The guard called out to the SWAT team that was waiting on the other side.

"No, no no no no! Don't even think about it!" Dean called out to them, brandishing his weapon.

"Please! Don't shoot!" The guard said again and stepped forward into the street.

Dean took a look around at all the vehicles and then backed into the foyer with a curse. "Son of a..." He looked at me, resignation in his eyes, he didn't see how we were getting out of here.

"You should go," Dean said to me, but I shook my head.

"No way, I'm not leaving you here," I said, tears in my eyes.

He sighed, "They don't know you, for all they know you're just another hostage," he tried to reason, but I stubbornly shook my head.

"I don't care!" I said. "We do this together, or not at all Dean!"

"We are so screwed," Dean muttered to me, and I grimaced. His phone started to ring and he picked it up.

"Yeah?" He said, putting it on speaker.

"_Slipped his skin," _Sam said over the phone.

"What?" Dean asked, surprised.

"_Yeah, bastard shifts fast. A lot faster than the one in St Louis," _Sam said. We were still stuck in this bank with a shape shifter who had so far managed to give us the brush off.

"God it's like playing the shell game. It could be anybody. Again!" Dean complained, looking around us as if expecting to see the shapeshifter come up at any moment.

"_Yeah, I think most of the employees are out of the vault by now," _Sam said.

"All right, you search every inch of this place, we're gonna go round everybody up," Dean said, looking over at me.

It didn't take long to get everyone back in the vault. The girl from earlier, who had been all moon-eyed over Dean gave him a glare this time as he waved her into the vault.

"And I thought you were one of the good guys," she chided him.

"What's your name?" Dean asked her and she looked at him.

"Why would you care?" She asked, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, defeated and resigned to being trapped yet again at gun point.

"My name's Dean," he said softly and I looked at him curious, it was said with such a gentle tone, one he rarely used. I paused to look at him, something was not right here, he was... scared?

"I'm Sherry," the girl said to him.

"Hi Sherry. Everything going to be all right," Dean promised her, and she looked at him disbelieving. "This will all be over soon."

He turned on his heel and walked toward me, ushering me back out into the bank. Dean turned and shut the vault door again, spinning the lock just as one of the phones started ringing. He looked at me, sighing and laid his handgun down on the table, hesitating for a split second before picking up the phone and hitting the speaker button next to the handset.

"Yeah?" Dean said into the phone shortly.

"_This is Special Agent Victor Henriksen," _a voice sounded over the line. I swallowed hard. Shit. The Feds were here too. Just how had this escalated to a FBI problem in such a short amount of time?

"Yeah, listen, I'm not really in the negotiating mood right now," Dean said, his shoulders slumped as he looked at the phone scowling.

"_Good. Me neither. It's my job to bring you in; alive's a bonus but not necessary." _I felt my heart skip a beat, there was a FBI task force here for the specific reason to bring in Dean? I closed my eyes and cursed that last shapeshifter, god damn them they were nothing but a damn problem whenever we came across them.

"Whoa," Dean said, a little surprised. "Kinda harsh for a Federal Agent, don't you think?" His eyes met mine, a fire catching behind his hazel orbs, he was feeling the walls starting to close in, the seriousness of this situation had just been ramped up to a 20/10.

"_Well you're not the typical suspect, are you, Dean?" _Dean looked at me, horrified and we both shared the same question. How the hell did he know who Dean was, and that Dean was here? _"I want you and Sam out here, unarmed. Or we come in. And yes, I know about Sam. Bonnie to your Clyde." _

Dean chucked looking at me. He knew I _hated _that no one seemed to know who I was, he knew I just wanted to get recognised once in a while – and that Fed couldn't have used a worse analogy – just months ago I'd been wanting to be Bonnie to Dean's Clyde. I scowled silently and Dean grinned at me. "Yeah well, that part's true, but how'd you even know we were here?"

"_Go screw yourself, that how I knew. It's become my job to know about you Dean. I've been looking for you for weeks now. I know about the murder in St. Louis. I know about the Houdini act you pulled in Baltimore. I know about the desecrations and the thefts. I know about your dad._" I started to open my mouth to retort about his supposed knowledge of John, but Dean held a hand up to me, indicating I should hold my tongue.

"Hey, you don't know crap about my dad," Dean said darkly into the phone.

"_Ex-marine, raised his kids on the road, cheap motels, backwoods cabins. Real paramilitary survivalist type. I just can't get a handle on what type of whacko he was. White supremacist, Timmy McVeigh, to-may-to, to-mah-to_." Henriksen made a point about how it was all just a matter of perspective as to whether or not John and consequently all hunters were either heroes, or crazy survivalist vigilantes out killing on a power trip.

"You got no right talking about my dad like that. He was a hero." Dean said quietly, anger simmering below the surface.

"_Yeah. Right. Sure sounds like it. You have one hour to make a decision or we come through those doors full automatic_." Dean hung his head with a sigh and pounded his fist into his forehead, hanging up the phone.

"Give me the key," I said to Dean, moving toward the door. He ran around the desk and grabbed my arm.

"What?" He asked, looking at me confused.

"Give me the key, I'm going out there... you know what, better yet, get me out the back somehow, I can grab a homeland security badge from the car, and get in to deal with Henriksen," I said, looking up at Dean frantically, someone had to be on the ground out there, and I was the only one he wasn't looking for.

"It's a little late for that now Beth," Dean said to me, his eyes softening. "You and I both know that hour was bogus, we'll be lucky if we've got ten minutes." I nodded, worried and scared.

Sam came running back into the main bank foyer and we looked at him.

"Hey. We've got a bit of a problem outside," Dean said, rubbing his hand across his eyes.

"We've got a problem in here," Sam said looking at us. "Who have you got rounded up in there?" He nodded toward the vault.

"Most of them," I said, "everyone we could find anyway."

"Is that girl in there?" Sam asked me, indicating with his eyes that I knew which pain the ass he was talking about.

"Who Sherry?" I asked, he nodded. "Yeah, she's in there."

"No she's not," Sam said. "I just found her body shoved in a closet. I turned to look at the vault. Game on.

We opened the vault and Dean stepped inside with Sam, brandishing the rifle.

"Sherry? We're going to let you go," Dean said while everyone else looked at them.

"What? Why me?" Sherry asked suspiciously.

"Uh, as a show of good faith to the Feds, come on," Dean said, urging her out.

"I think I'd... I'd rather stay here, with the others," Sherry said worriedly, stepping back among the other employees.

Dean approached her and I took a moment to think about how scary that situation would be as a young woman, here she was, at gun point and two pretty intimidating men were insisting she come out with them, alone. I know what I'd be thinking if I were an attractive young woman in her shoes, if she were human anyway, and it was utterly terrifying.

I pushed past Dean and Sam, looking at them.

"You're scaring her," I said, turning to look at them. I took a risk, hoping it would pay off. Because if it didn't, I was putting myself in reach of a monster that wouldn't hesitate to kill me and my child. I was hoping it wasn't stupid enough to give up it's cover.

"Sherry," I said to her. "They're not going to do anything to you, I swear. But you need to come with us now."

Once out of the vault, I led Sherry back to the hallway, away from the door. "I thought you were letting me go," Sherry said, looking at me confused.

"Yeah, uh, sorry Sherry, I lied." I said to her, looking apologetic. _Dean and Sam weren't the only scary people in this bank_, I thought ruefully. Dean came up behind us and took her arm, shoving her into an office where Sherry's real body was lying, dead. He spun her around to look at the body and when she saw it, she freaked out.

Sherry launched herself back from Dean, screaming hysterically as she collided with Sam, who grabbed her, brandishing his silver letter opener in the air.

"Is that community theatre, or are you just naturally that good?" Dean asked, watching the display of hysteria.

"This is the last time you become anybody. Ever." Sam said melodramatically. Sherry pulled back, looking at the dagger, then glancing at me. "Oh god! Oh!" She fainted, falling to the ground.

We stared at her, and Dean exchanged a baffled look with Sam. Dean removed his rifle and took out the silver letter opener from his jacket, kneeling so he could position himself over her. He raised the blade, preparing to ram it home. I was looking back and forth between the two bodies, something seeming horribly wrong.

"Dean, wait. Wait, wait." I said, taking his arm in my hand. "What's the advantage of this plan? I mean, fainting now wouldn't help it survive."

Dean paused, considering. "Huh," he said out loud, nodding and looking back at the other body.

He got up and knelt over by the other body, examining it, a thoughtful expression on his face. There was a sound of breaking glass, and I startled, looking out into the main room – we were fresh out of time, the Feds were coming in. Dean and Sam also looked in the direction of the sound, and that's when the shapeshifter made it's move. The dead Sherry suddenly sprung to life, grabbing Dean by the throat. Dean struggled to get a foothold against it, he broke free of one hand attempting to stab the creature.

The real Sherry woke up, screaming again, and clamored to her feet, falling into Sam's arms. "Oh god! Oh god!" She said over and over. I pushed Sam and her toward the door.

"Get her out of here, now!" I said, taking Sam's silver letter opener out of his hand. "We need to find a way out of here!" I said to him urgently. Sam hesitated for a second and then nodded. The whole interaction took just a few seconds, Dean was still struggling with the shifter, who was strong, and I spun back to help.

The shifter kneed Dean in the side of his torso, breaking loose and running, shoving me out of the way. I regained my footing and raced after it, Dean hot on my heels. The creature headed down a flight of stairs into the boiler room. Dean and I paused at the door, exchanging a cautious glance before he nodded and I pushed the door open, letting him take the lead.

We flanked each other, heading deeper into the boiler room. There was a noise behind us and Dean grabbed me, pulling me behind a wall into the shadows and then when they looked in the other direction, we silently backed down another hallway, disappearing from their view.

Inside another room, we separated for a moment to cover the larger area, silver daggers in hand. I swallowed hard, crouching into a defensive posture to give myself the best protection possible, my eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. I heard Dean grunt and looked over a few benches to see the shapeshifter and Dean in a stand off.

Dean settled into a fighting stance, eyes on the shifter, taking a swipe at it with the knife, missing, but landing a blow from his other fist. The shifter got in a punch too and they tussled, seemingly evenly matched. Dean got in a couple of head-butts by the time I reached their side of the room. I hesitated, it was hard to come in on a hand-to-hand combat situation, especially with Dean, one of us could get hurt, so I stood back, waiting to see how things went down.

Dean swung at her again with the knife, the shifter grabbed Dean's wrist, struggling to keep the blade from itself, Dean grunted, grasping at her forearm, a piece of skin coming peeling away in his hand. Dean looked at it for a moment and shuddered.

"Gross," he said, shaking his head. The shifter responded with a swift kick to his groin and Dean doubled over. She kneed him several times in the face and Dean went down. I was moving in an instant. The shifter went to kick Dean as he lay on the ground and I moved with a quiet confidence, blocking the kick with my forearms, grasping its ankle and twisting, forcing the shifter to spin. I shoved it against the wall and threw my full body weight in against it. It struggled, spinning to face me, and Dean pushed in from the side, having struggled to his feet. He threw his right forearm up against the creature's throat, pinning it to the wall. It allowed me to take a slight step back and then drive my silver blade into it's chest. I felt it sink in, driving home.

I stared into Dean's eyes as he held the creature in place until it was no longer moving. We were both breathing heavily, and I leaned my head against his shoulder for a moment, relieved. Dean stepped back, releasing the creature and allowing it to slide to the floor, putting his arms around me and holding me close, his chest heaving as I rested against him.

Footsteps sounded behind us and we turned to see a SWAT member behind us, I panicked and stepped back, almost falling into the body of the creature. Dean put himself between me and the SWAT member, assessing.

Instead of barking orders at us, the officer moved up to take off their helmet. I sagged, laughing as Sam's smiling face beamed out at us.

"You wanted a way out?" He asked me, and I grinned. Perfect.

Sam had procured one more SWAT uniform, having taken out two of them single-handedly. I took a moment to think about how SWAT was the best of the best, and here Sam was taking out two of them alone. Not for the first time in my life did I send a silent thank you to John for having trained us, and trained us well.

Dean was shrugging into the last of the body armour, and pulled the helmet over his head with a flourish. "Come on miss, let's get you and your baby to safety," he said with a chuckle and I grinned, allowed these two SWAT men to escort me out of the bank.

A distinguished looking African-American in a suit and tie, wearing a blue jacket with yellow writing proclaiming "FBI" was stalking toward the bank as we exited, I pretended to lean heavily on the boys, exaggerating my pregnancy as an excuse. The man ignored us and walked right past, barking orders at other police officers. I recognised his voice, it was Henriksen from the phone call earlier.

Dean put a more secure arm around my waist and led me away toward the parking building. Once we were past the emergency vehicles barricading the entire area, the boys released me from their grip, and we ran up the couple of flights of stairs toward where we had parked. They started to peel off their helmets as we reached the Impala.

I went to climb into the back of the car but Dean stopped me, looking into my eyes, seeing the blood that was all down my front, staining the suit I was wearing. He rested a hand on my stomach and swallowed. "You ok?" He asked. I smiled and nodded, kissing him gently before pulling back.

"We're good, nothing to worry about," I said reassuringly. Dean nodded and then opened the back door for me, I slid on to the back seat and leaned forward. Sam was sitting there, breathing heavily, looking thoughtful. Dean climbed in next to him and looked back at us both, a frown on his face.

"We are so screwed," he said with a sigh. Sam flinched and nodded ever so slightly. I chewed on my lip and ran my hands up over my face and through my hair. We'd figure it out, we'd have to, it was either that or we were looking at a move, permanently South, real down South, as in Rio De Janeiro south.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this episode is: _Halfway There _by Soundgarden

* * *

Sorry about the delay of the update, I've had a good reason I swear!

I've been beta reading and collaborating on a fun and exciting project with my friend EarthhAngel. She's in the process of writing a John Winchester / OC fan fic and I must say, I am LOVING it! I swear I'm in danger of becoming more obsessed with it than I am Dean & Beth (though not quite) Chapter 1 will be up soon, and I'll be linking to it because of the simple fact that BETH is in there too!

Yep, we're crossing over into each other's verses and it looks great :) I mention it here because her OC is going to feature on occasion in my own storyline from this point on, and I'll be going back to edit one or two chapters to reference her so there is continuity.

She's exactly what I was looking for in order to progress the storyline I want to work with in Seasons 5 & 6. I had been struggling with a particular storyline and how it would work given the limited support characters I had, and the introduction of this OC is very timely – plus she's just all kinds of cool! (and you get to see a bit of Dean & Beth pre-relationship angst from 3rd party view!)

Anyway, stay tuned, I'm sure the chapter will be up soon, and I'll be sharing. Or you can go over to EarthhAngel's profile and follow her as an author now :D If you like my story, I think you're going to really enjoy hers too. Don't be put off by her profile, I'm going to MAKE HER finish this story! LOL (hugs to EA)

* * *

Hope this chapter was worth the wait, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!


	14. Houses of the Holy

**Author's Note: **You'll get to meet Cole this chapter, this is the OC I was talking about in the AN in the last chapter. She'll crop up from time to time, and I highly recommend that everyone check's out EarthhAngel's fanfic _How to Save a Life _which will introduce her more fully. In short, Cole is Bobby's daughter, and has been involved in the Winchester's lives for a long time on and off. I will be going back to add her into a couple of stories because she'll be guest starring in a few chapters from here on in. You can also see Dean and Beth feature in _How to Save a Life – _it's a great opportunity to get a 3rd person perspective on them, the story being written just a few months before they get together. Cole will feature in more detail next chapter.

This is one of my favourite episodes – I'm such an angel freak – I hope you enjoy it as much as I have loved writing it!

* * *

_Spend all your time waiting__**  
**__for that second chance__**  
**__for a break that would make it okay__**  
**__there's always some reason__**  
**__to feel not good enough__**  
**__and it's hard at the end of the day__**  
**__I need some distraction__**  
**__oh beautiful release__**  
**__memories seep from my veins__**  
**__let me be empty__**  
**__and weightless and maybe__**  
**__I'll find some peace tonight_

_in the arms of the angel__**  
**__fly away from here__**  
**__from this dark cold hotel room__**  
**__and the endlessness that you fear__**  
**__you are pulled from the wreckage__**  
**__of your silent reverie__**  
**__you're in the arms of the angel__**  
**__may you find some comfort here_

* * *

**HOUSES OF THE HOLY**

* * *

**Psychiatric Ward  
**_**Providence, Rhoda Island**_**  
**

I stood looking in the small window to the room Gloria was in. She was seated quietly at the end of her bed, wearing a bathrobe, looking as sane as you can get with her long blonde hair brushed, falling straight down her back. She was peaceful, serene, reading from a book as the light of day peered through the barred window.

There was a little kick in my stomach and I smiled, running my hand over it. I was dressed in white scrubs. I thought I looked like an overstuffed marshmallow, but no one had even questioned it. I suppose nursing in general was so under staffed that no one seemed to question that a pregnant nurse would still be working at sixteen weeks into a pregnancy. Then again, maybe that was normal, it's not as if I'd had a normal life to compare it to, I just figured I'd keep going as long as I could, or as long as Dean would let me – whichever came first.

We'd been kind of quiet lately, not doing a lot, laying low since the last case which had brought Dean under a lot of scrutiny when a camera crew had caught him on film during the bank "robbery". I was still waiting for the right time to bring up what on earth we were going to do with a baby once it was born. Dean had gotten a little sullen since the encounter with the shapeshifter, and he was starting to wallow, I was quietly concerned at the change in attitude from him.

Setting all that aside, I took a deep breath and brought myself back to the present. Gloria. The door eased open without so much as a creak when I pushed it, stepping quietly into the room holding a clipboard in front of me. Gloria turned a serene face to me and smiled.

"Good morning, you're not the usual guy," she said, and I shook my head. For a start, I wasn't even a 'guy' but I wasn't going to go there, it wasn't important.

"No, I'm just filling in for today. So how are you feeling, Gloria?" I asked, throwing her a friendly smile.

"I've never felt better," Gloria said with a smile, and I believed her. There was a certain settled feeling around her, like she was connected to a higher calling, I used to be able to relate to that. Unlike Dean, I had felt like we were fulfilling some kind of a destiny in the work we did. These past six months however, I was starting to doubt my faith.

"So, no disturbances lately?" I asked, watching her face.

"You mean am I stark raving cuckoo for coco puffs?" Gloria asked with a smirk.

I smiled at her. "I didn't say that."

"It's all right. I know what people must think," Gloria reassured me, and again I believed her. She had the look of someone who was totally accepting of her fate and calling.

"What do you think?" I asked, curious to know what this woman thought of her current situation.

"I think what I saw was real," Gloria said simply. I paused to reflect on this. Most people when they saw something supernatural, tried to explain it away after a while, because the rest of the world just wrote them off as crazy. But not this woman, she was resolute in her surrender and understanding of what had happened to her. She was a believer.

I pulled up a chair and sat down, leaning forward toward her, I was so curious as to what she had said because I had always been a believer in angels, I still prayed to my guardian angel every night, the one that I _shared _with Dean, because he didn't believe. It was something that had happened the day we first met – I'd been eight years old, he was ten, and I told him I'd share my angel with him so that he'd have someone to protect him.

He still carried around my little guardian angel medallion, tied inside his hunter's journal, so I secretly hoped that he'd eventually come around – he was adamant that he wouldn't believe until an angel literally came up and tapped him on the shoulder. I suppose that was fair, Dean tended to be a more of a _I'll believe it when I see it_ kind of person.

"I'd like to know what you saw," I said to her honestly, hoping that she could see the legitimacy in my request. I wanted to believe and understand.

"It was all over the news," Gloria said with a shrug. "I stabbed a man in the heart."

"Why would you do that?" I asked her with a concerned look.

"Because it was God's will," she said simply, her eyes were so sure, so completely certain that she was doing the work of the Lord.

"Did God talk to you?" I asked and she chuckled, a smile reaching her eyes.

"No. I get the sense God's a little busy for house calls. No, he, he sent someone." Her eyes glittered with a couple of tears, but it didn't seem as if it was from self-pity. It felt as if they were the tears of when you came into touch with something greater than yourself. I'd seen it before, people in _ecstasy_ or _rapture, _certain they were connected to the Source, God, whatever you wanted to call it. She wasn't in rapture, but she was connected to something that put that look in her eyes.

"Someone?" I asked, pressing for information.

"An angel." She said with soft eyes. "It came to me in this beautiful white light, and it filled me with this feeling. It's, it's hard to describe..." she said, her voice trailing. She didn't need to, I understood, and I saw it in her eyes, in the unshed tears, the feeling of greater love.

"And this angel...?" I said, tilting my head to the side, wanting to know me.

"Spoke God's Word," Gloria said to me.

"And the Word was to kill someone?" I asked, surprised. Didn't sound quite right to me, but then, who knew what God's purpose was. I had to admit, while I believed in angels, God himself was a bit of an enigma. My mother had only ever taught me to believe in angels, and although my Dad was a minister, he'd never pushed a belief in God on me, only the values of doing good, being kind and loving your fellow humans.

"I know, it sounds strange. But what I did was very important. I helped him smite an evil man," she looked at me with conviction. "I was chosen. For redemption." She smiled when she said that, so sure of herself it was scary.

"This man you stabbed," I said carefully. "Did the angel give you his name?"

"No, he just told me to wait for the sign. And the very next day I saw it, right beside the man's doorway. And I knew." She shook her head.

"Why him?" I asked.

"I just know what the angel told me: that this man was guilty to his deepest foundations. And that was good enough for me."

I looked at her, contemplating all that she had told me. An angel of God telling humans to smite other humans. Well, it wasn't completely unheard of – the Bible was full of stories of God smiting the wicked. Why didn't it quite ring home for me then?

* * *

**Motel Room**

When I got to the motel room I opened the door to find Dean on the bed, it was vibrating and he was listening to music on the new phone I had set up for him. I'd downloaded all the greatest 80s rock on there and he was excited with about his new toy. John and Dean had never been one for using the latest technology, even I wasn't much for GPS units, but I loved my phone and all its music. Dean had also discovered the vibrating _Magic Fingers _attachment to the bed, and had been using it since we arrived.

I smiled, watching him, he was completely oblivious to the fact that I had opened the door. There was a screen that partially blocked the doorway – it had silhouetted tiles of a woman in a sexy pose staggered in line with blank spaces. I could see him through the empty spaces. Dean's face was blissed out as he vibrated away, letting the bed soothe, or perhaps excite, his tired muscles. I stepped around the screen and dropped my bag on the table nearby.

"Hey," I said to him, but he didn't hear me. I grinned and shrugged out of my jacket, it joined the bag. Dean's eyes were closed as he air drummed to the beat on his phone, and I chewed on my lip thoughtfully as I watched him. I slipped out of my shoes and walked over to the end of the bed, leaning down and running my hands in a long stroke from his ankles, up over his knees and across his thighs.

Dean jumped with a little shout, looking around furtively at the touch. Seeing me leaning over his legs at the end of the bed he relaxed, slumping back into the pillow, a grin on his face.

"Hey. You gotta try this. I mean there really is magic in the _Magic Fingers." _He said cheekily to me. I licked my lips, thinking about his own magic fingers and crawled forward until I was hovering over his chest. He ran his hands up over my hips and smiled at me, sitting up slightly to kiss me, lingering and gentle. I groaned, not liking how I was going to have burst his bubble and get all serious on him.

I pulled away and slipped off the bed, crossing the room to slide the chain on the door. Dean looked surprised at me, but then he nodded with a grin, pulling the earphones out of his ears and tossing his phone on to Sam's bed.

"I like where your head is at," he said with a smile.

"Can we talk?" I asked, biting my lip and looking back at him. The smile fell from Dean's face, quickly replaced by a look of concern.

"What's wrong?" He asked, sitting up and forgetting about the vibrating bed underneath him.

"Nothing," I said, all sorts of thoughts running through my head. _How to start this conversation? _I sighed. _Just start it, however! _

"Doesn't look like nothing," Dean commented, his expression remaining unchanged. He waved me over and sat back on the bed, waiting for me to join him. I dragged my feet a little, but eventually made it to the bed, climbing on with him. He guided me in against his chest and I lay my head over his heart, listening to the steady thumping under my ear.

"Spill," he ordered and I took a deep breath.

"Just thinking about the whole shifter thing and you being on lock-down because of it." I said quietly, not really sure where I was going with it. The bed was still vibrating under us, working it's magic, and I started to get distracted by the proximity of Dean's body, his firm hard abs under my hand. I pulled my hand away as if I had been holding it against hot coals, trying to gather my thoughts. "We've never had to lay this low before..." I said.

"Mhmm?" Dean murmured into my hair, softly running his hand along my arm causing goosebumps to stand up. I groaned inwardly, and then looked up to kiss him on the lips.

"Well," I started again, "this might be something we have to do permanently soon..." I commented, sighing softly as Dean's mouth brushed along my collarbone, he was distracted, tugging at the neckline of the shirt I was wearing, trying to get at more skin.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and I blinked finding it hard to focus on the question. My hand was resting over his abs again. Almost unconsciously I found my hand slide its way under his shirt, brushing against his skin, eliciting a short gasp from him. With the intake of breath I leaned up to look at him.

"We need to talk..." I said, my words cut short as his lips claimed mine in a hungry kiss. He pushed me down against the mattress, leaning over me as his tongue met mine in a slow, lingering tango.

"You said that already," he said a little breathlessly, pulling away to look into my eyes. My whole body was alert with the vibrations underneath me heightening all my senses. I took a breath and bit my lip to try and focus my attention back on the conversation.

"About the baby." I said to him, and he subconsciously reached down to brush his hand over my stomach, a tiny smile reaching his eyes. His tantalising strokes grew a little firmer, less teasing and more in the region of tender massage. I swallowed, looking into his eyes. The bed came to a shuddering halt, bringing me back to my senses.

"What are we going to do when it's born?" I asked, scared to think about the answer, what it might mean for us. Would we give up hunting? How could we not? How would Dean cope with a decision like that? Would he make that decision? Or would he leave me with the baby and go off into danger without me?

"Hey," he said, seeing the conflict in my eyes, his own eyes softening and showing unabashed love for me. "Hey..." he whispered, kissing my eyes as tears welled up in them. "Don't worry, ok? Don't cry, I promise you we'll figure it out," he said gently. I nodded silently, not trusting my voice.

I gnawed on my lower lip, these thoughts running like a freight train through my mind. Dean watched silently, concern in his eyes. For what seemed an eternity we just looked at each other, and I fed him all my fears in that look, all my secret terrors that maybe this was just too much of a change in our lives for us to cope with.

Dean pulled back and I startled, feeling as if he was retreating from me, and I knew, I knew that I'd finally done it, I'd finally pushed him so far that he was going to leave me. I turned my head to the side and let out a shuddering sob. Instead of moving away, he lay next to me, brushing my hair out of my eyes.

"I would never leave you," he said to me as if he'd read my mind. I stared at him. I wanted to believe it, but something in my head was screaming at me, _of course he'll leave you, everyone else in your life did when it got too hard to be around you! _He frowned when I didn't answer him, fresh tears coming into my eyes. "Beth," he said firmly, looking at me, catching my gaze with his own. He watched me, sliding his hand under my shirt and pushing it up to bare my stomach.

Quietly, slowly he brought his lips down to kiss it, to nuzzle the skin, I drew in a shaky breath, watching him as he revealed a side I'd never seen before. He lay his head against my stomach, against the child that was ours, and he looked up at me. "I would never leave you," he repeated quietly and this time I saw the truth there, the promise. I nodded through tears at him, reaching down to touch his face, smiling.

"We'll figure it out ok?" He said finally, I nodded again, closing my eyes with relief and taking a deep breath.

Seeing me relax, Dean pulled up and slid in next to me once more, kissing along my collarbone like he had before. He held up an almost empty roll of quarters and raised his eyebrows, I laughed at him, he was such a big kid. Just like that he had moved from vulnerable and comforting to frisky and incorrigible. Without waiting for a yea or nay, he rolled over to put a few quarters in the coin slot of the bed, it kicked in again, vibrating away.

Dean rolled back to slide his hand around my waist, pulling me into him and kissing along my neck. I groaned, letting the magic of the bed melt away the tension in my body, letting my fears fall from my mind, I was here with Dean and I pulled myself back into the moment. I smiled, feeling completely and utterly turned on by the circling hand at the small of my back.

"So, who has the better magic fingers? You or the bed?" I asked huskily and he chuckled into my neck, nipping at my earlobe a second later. He took the directive well, and I shivered as he pulled at the elastic waist of my pants, slipping his hand in between my legs.

"Hmmm, let's find out?" He said with a little grin. A hot flush ran the length of my body as he touched my centre, moving easily and knowingly to where I liked it most. He teased me through the cotton of my panties until I was growling at him, almost panting from the electric feeling he was sending through me.

"Dean..." I groaned at him, nuzzling his neck and rocking against his hand. He looked innocently at me, raising an eyebrow and I narrowed my eyes at him. With a cheeky grin he plunged his finger behind the fabric, sliding it in against me. I gasped, losing my breath at the sudden shockwave I was riding. He deftly explored me, circling, teasing before stroking in just the right place, over and over until I threw my head back in urgency, moaning and gasping at the same time.

I felt the familiar sensation of warmth start to wash over me and I clutched at his arm, my nails digging in, letting him know without so many words just how close I was. He changed the angle with his finger, drawing it out, slower and I nearly cried it was so agonising.

"Jesus Christ Dean!" I managed to get out, groaning and holding my breath. He chuckled and then resumed his ministrations, bringing me to that heightened state again. I clung to him, riding the wave as he brought me over the edge, gasping for breath, shuddering with pleasure.

When I stopped moving he slipped his hand back out of my pants and pulled me in close, kissing lazily along my jawline to my lips, brushing soft lips across mine. I smiled into the kiss, and parted his lips with my tongue, exploring him, drinking from him. Our lips locked in a heated exchange, and he let out a guttural moan pulling me toward him, sliding my leg between his to rub against his groin.

The door slammed open at that moment, the chain catching and there was a curse from Sam on the other side. We startled apart, almost guiltily, like we'd done on more than one account in the past, especially with John around.

"Oh come on guys!" Sam said exasperated, I looked over to see his hand gesturing rudely to us through the small gap the chain allowed.

Dean groaned, rolling his eyes, but let me pull away and get up from the bed. I straightened out my pants as I walked over and unchained the door. Once he could get in I rushed back and crawled on to the vibrating bed with Dean, looking back at Sam with a smirk.

"Hey man, you gotta try this!" Dean said, repeating his earlier spiel that he'd used on me. "There really is magic in the _Magic Fingers!" _He said with a grin. Sam just looked at us, face serious, appraising the fact that we were both sprawled out on a vibrating bed, fully clothed thankfully, with an empty roll of quarters next to the coin slot.

"You guys are enjoying that bed way too much, it's kind of making me uncomfortable," Sam said to us, and he really did look like he meant it. I shook my head and looked up at him.

"Well you think this is uncomfortable... good thing you weren't here a little while..." Dean grunted and stopped talking when I elbowed him in the ribs, throwing him a warning look. Seriously, he had no tact at all.

Sam crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't want to know, jeez!"

"Well, what am I supposed to do? I mean, you've both got me on lock-down here, I'm bored out of my skull!" Dean said, looking from Sam to me. He was right, Dean never had been one for lying around and doing nothing for days on end.

"Hey, you were the bank robber on the eleven o'clock news, not me. We can't risk you just walking into a government facility," Sam said. I nodded, he was right on that one.

"Hmmm," Dean frowned, a little unhappy. Sam waved a hand dismissively at us and turned to go into the bathroom. There was a rumbling sound as the bed shuddered to stillness, Dean groaned.

"Awww dammit! That was my last quarter," he said sadly to me. He looked over at Sam. "Hey! You got any quarters?" He asked hopefully. Sam was in the bathroom washing his face, we could just see him from the bed through the bathroom door.

"No!" Sam said, rolling his eyes.

Dean planted a kiss on my cheek and smiled at me. "We're gonna finish that other... conversation...later?" He said, almost a question more than a request. I grinned and ran my hand up his inner thigh.

"You can count on it," I grinned at him wickedly. His eyes watched me, hungrily, before he groaned softly and climbed off the bed, heading for the mini bar.

"So did you get in to see that crazy hooker?" Dean asked me, now that all his fun was over.

I sat up on the bed, nodding. "Yeah, Gloria Sitnick. And I'm not so sure she's crazy," I said, thinking about the sincerity on her face.

"She seriously believes she was touched by an angel?" Dean asked sceptically, looking over at me while he opened a beer and took a sip.

"Yeah. Blinding light, feelings of spiritual ecstasy, the works." I said, getting up and putting the kettle on. "I mean, she's living in a locked ward, and she's totally at peace." It was disturbingly peaceful.

"Oh yeah, you're right, that sounds completely sane. What about the dude she stabbed?" Dean said, his forehead furrowing in thought.

"Uh, Carl Gully. She said she killed him because he was evil," I said, looking up as Sam came out of the bathroom.

"Was he?" Sam asked, a curious look on his face.

"I don't know," I said, shrugging. "I couldn't find any dirt on him. Didn't have a criminal record, worked over at the campus library, had lots of friends... churchgoer." He sounded like your regular run of the mill person, normal, sane and as non-evil as you could get.

"Hm," Dean said thoughtfully. "So then Gloria's just your standard-issue wacko. I mean, she wouldn't be the first nutjob in history to kill in the name of religion, know what I mean?"

"No, but she's the second in town to murder because an angel told them to. Little odd, don't you think?" Sam asked, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"Well, odd yes, supernatural maybe. But angels? I don't think so," Dean smirked, shaking his head as he took another sip of his beer.

"Why not?" I asked, and Dean paused to roll his eyes at me.

"Look, Beth, I know you believe in these things," Dean said carefully, gauging just how fragile I was, how hormonal. "But there's no such thing," he said when he saw I was pretty level-headed right now.

"Dean, there's ten times as much lore about angels than there is about _anything else _we've ever hunted!" I said, exasperated. This wasn't the first time we'd had this discussion.

"Yeah, you know what? There's a tonne of lore on unicorns too. In fact, I hear that they, they ride on silver moonbeams and shoot rainbows out of their ass." He said said with a semi-serious look. "Doesn't make them real."

Sam sat down on the bed, looking shocked. "Wait, there's no such thing as unicorns?" He asked and I grinned at the deadpan expression. _Classic!_

"That's cute," Dean smirked at him. "I'm just saying man, there's just some legends that you just, you file under 'bullcrap'," he finished, shaking his head. I looked at him hardly believing my ears, because I just couldn't get where he was coming from, _at all._

"And you've got _angels _on the bullcrap list?" I asked incredulously, shaking my head with a smile.

"Yep," Dean said with a nod.

"Why?" Sam asked, I almost rolled my eyes, I'd had this conversation with Dean before so I already knew the answer.

"Because I've never seen one," Dean answered, finishing off the rest of his beer and tossing the can in the sink.

"So what?" Sam asked, shrugging and looking at Dean. He was sitting at the edge of the bed, watching his brother with guarded eyes. Sam and I were more on the _faithful _side when it came to angels and things we couldn't explain.

"So, I believe in what I can see," Dean said simply, shrugging.

"Dean! We have all seen things that most people couldn't even dream about!" I said, shaking my head. I had no idea why I was allowing myself to get pulled back into this debate, it always ended the same way.

"Exactly," Dean said, pointing at me. "With our own eyes, that's hard proof, ok? But in all this time I have never seen anything that looks like an angel. And don't you think that if they existed that we would have crossed paths with them? Or at least know someone that crossed paths with them?" I frowned at him and held up my hand.

"My mom believed in them, she said they spoke to her." I said, challenging him.

Dean sighed and looked at me, he was conflicted because he really wanted to just call my mother a crackpot and be done with it, but he also knew it was a touchy subject.

"Babe, I know your mom _thought _she talked to angels, but do we really know that for sure? I mean, you were really young when she died. You pray to them every day, have they ever talked back to you?" He said it gently, crossing over to touch my arm as he said it. I could see the concern that I was going to have a pregnant moment and melt down showing in his eyes.

"No," I said quietly with a sigh, looking up at him and biting my lip. He had me there, and I wasn't too proud to admit it.

He kissed me on the forehead, then looked over at Sam. "This is a demon, or a spirit, you know, they find people a few fries short of a happy meal, and they trick them into killing these randoms."

"Maybe," Sam conceded, his face didn't look happy about it though. Dean rolled his eyes.

"Can we just – I'm going stir-crazy here guys. Hey, let's go by Gloria's apartment, huh?" He said, changing the subject.

"I was just there," Sam said. "Nothing. No sulphur, no EMF..."

"You didn't see any fluffy white wing feathers?" Dean asked sarcastically. Sam glared at him.

"Well Gloria did say the angel gave her a sign," I said, interrupting. "Right beside Carl Gully's doorway."

Dean looked at me eagerly, excited at the prospect of getting out of the motel room, his eyes were practically screaming at me to get him out of here. "Could be something at his house, worth checking out," he said, keen as mustard to go see. I grinned.

"Yeah, you're right, Sam and I'll check it out," I teased him. Dean's face fell and he stared at me.

"I'm kidding!" I said with a light punch to his rock hard chest. "Come on, get your jacket," I winked at him and he practically melted he was so happy to get out for a change.

* * *

**Carl Gully's House**

Dean was driving, eager to get behind the wheel again. He pulled the car around the corner and parked in front of Carl's house. It was a standard, single-family home with steps that led up to the front door. There was a tacky angel mounted outside the door, and lights shining around. It was a week before Christmas, snow was everywhere. The footpath leading up to the house had been shovelled by some well meaning neighbour.

We stepped out of the car, heading up to the house.

"Oh hey, I think I found it. It's a sign from up above," Dean said, looking at the angel. He peered in the window, finding nothing. "Well I think I learned a valuable lesson: don't buy tacky angel decorations or you might get filleted by a hooker from God. Ha." He smirked at me but I didn't find it very funny, frowning at him.

"I'm laughing on the inside," I said to him, shaking my head.

Dean shifted a little uncomfortably under my gaze before coming over to stand behind me, slipping his hands around my waist and holding my stomach. I felt the baby kick and I grinned. "Here," I said, moving his hand. "You feel that?" Dean nodded, always a little awestruck whenever it happened, and it had been happening a lot more regularly lately. Dean held me against him with a happy sigh.

"Sorry," he said into my hair as Sam wandered around the back, looking for anything interesting.

"What for?" I asked, turning my face to the side, I could just see him out of the periphery of my vision.

"For making fun of the whole angel thing," he said quietly. I smiled at him.

"It's ok Dean, one day you'll figure it out," I said with a raised eyebrow, kissing him on the cheek. He chuckled, like he always did when I was telling him something I believed, and yet couldn't prove.

"Well, I hope so," he said, looking up as Sam called out to us. He pulled away and went to look over the side of the porch railing at Sam who was standing ankle-deep in snow near the side of the house. "What you got?" He asked his brother.

"Storm cellar entrance," Sam said, looking back at us. I frowned, curious.

"Well, Gloria said the guy was guilty to his deepest foundations," I said, almost directly quoting her. Sam tossed me contemplative look, a frown creasing his brow.

"You think she literally meant the foundation?" He asked. I shrugged. Dean looked curious and nodded.

"Let's find out," he said, jumping the railing and landing in the snow. I shook my head and chuckled, that would have been funny if he'd hit a patch of ice. I took the stairs, like a normal human being, especially one that was pregnant. By the time I reached them a few minutes later, they had the doors to the cellar open and Sam was leading the way down the dimly lit stairs. We all had flash-lights tucked into our jackets, the mandatory tool for snooping around people's homes in the dark, and we got them out now.

I hesitated at the top of the stairs, biting my lip. Low ceiling, dark, dank. Just the kind of place I didn't like going into. Dean tossed me a look that questioned if I was ok, and I fought off the panic attack that was threatening to take over me, breathing in deeply through my nose and then out through my mouth. I followed them in, no way was I letting them see my fear get the better of me, especially not now I was pregnant.

It was a typical cellar, dug out of the cold earth and lined interchangeably with stone wall or wooden paling. It was very reminiscent of the basement Dean had been in at when he'd come to rescue Sam and I from a pack of psychopaths who wanted to hunt us. Who hunted humans? It was insane! I forced back a shudder when I saw canned goods on the shelf; in the psycho house that had been human organs – here is just looked like tomatoes or something else gone wrong.

"Hmm," Dean said thoughtfully, looking around.

Sam had moved across to another wall and was looking at something on the floor. "Hey," he said, drawing our attention to him.

"You got something?" Dean asked, stepping in gaze at whatever it was Sam was looking at. Sam dug around with his fingers at the wall, and pulled something out near what looked like finger prints.

"What is it?" I asked, squinting and trying to see in the dark.

"Looks like a fingernail," Sam said, shocked. Dean looked startled, and then frowned. Standing up they both grabbed a shovel from a stack of tools leaning against the wall. Taking a wild stab in the dark they started to dig near where the fingernail had been. Half an hour later we were looking at a deep pit, at least three skeletons were lying in the dirt.

"So much for the innocent churchgoing librarian," Sam said, shining his light along the length of the skeleton.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, whatever spoke to Gloria about this knew what it was talking about, I'll give you that," he said, looking up at me. I nodded, well that was something at least. If it wasn't an angel, it was someone or something that knew about these dead bodies buried underneath Carl's house.

* * *

**Motel Room  
****_Next Day_**

I came into the motel room carrying a pizza and six-pack of beer. Dean was sitting on the edge of the bed, police radio in hand and staring forlornly at the _Magic Fingers _controller. I gave him a sympathetic look and placed the beer and pizza down on the table.

"I'm so bored!" Dean said with a grimace. "Did you bring quarters?" He asked hopefully, and I shook my head.

"Sorry, I forgot... baby brain!" He looked disappointed so I crossed over and stood in front of him. He rested his chin on my bulging belly and turned his hazel eyes up to look at me with a sad sigh. I brushed a hand through his short brown hair, smiling and allowed myself to be pulled sideways into his lap; Dean wrapped his arms around me holding me tight.

"Well, least you brought pizza!" He said with a smile and I laughed.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, looking around and finding that we were alone.

"Oh, he went to the library where what's-his-face worked," Dean replied, absently running his hand along my forearm.

I looked at him, raising my eyebrow. "You want to eat, or finish that conversation from yesterday?" I asked with a cheeky grin. He chuckled and in a second I found myself on the bed, Dean peering down at me.

"What do you think?" He asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

The door opened and Sam stalked into the room carrying sandwiches. Apparently he'd also had the same idea while out – food. But his was a slightly more healthier version than mine. He rolled his eyes at us and tossed the sandwiches on the table with the pizza and beer. He took a beer and opened it, draining half of it in one go.

"Did you bring quarters?" Dean asked with his one-track mind, still hovering over my body now pinned to the mattress.

Sam frowned at the _Magic Fingers _controller and the grimaced. "Dude I'm not enabling your sick habit! You're like one of those lab rats that pushes the pleasure button instead of the food button until it dies."

Dean kissed me quickly and then stood up to turn a frown toward Sam. He walked over to the table, opening the pizza box and picking up a piece of tangy meat lovers, taking a bite and chewing loudly in front of Sam. He swallowed and gave Sam a haughty look.

"What are you talking about? I eat!" He said with a grin, Sam just shook his head and said nothing. "And I got news," Dean added, looking first at Sam and then at me.

"Me too," Sam said, taking another drink of beer.

"All right, you go first," Dean said with a nod, placing a piece of pizza on a plate and bringing it over for me. He sat next to me, munching contentedly on his own while looking expectantly at Sam.

"Three students have disappeared off the college campus in the last year. All of them were last seen at the library," Sam announced, and I frowned, thinking about the skeletons we'd found.

"Where Carl Gully worked," I said out loud, still frowning.

"Yep," Sam confirmed with a nod.

"Sick bastard," Dean muttered, looking at his pizza, momentarily put off by his food. It didn't last long, he shrugged after a couple of seconds and took another bite.

Sam spoke again. "So Gloria's angel..."

"Angel?" Dean asked, mouth full of food, raising his eyebrow.

"OK. Whatever this thing is..." Sam conceded, finishing with no idea of what to say.

"It's struck again," Dean said, and I looked over at him. He hadn't mentioned this.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"I was listening to the police radio before you got back; there was this guy, uh, Zach Smith, some local drunk... he went up to a stranger's front door last night, stabbed him in the heart." Dean said, looking from me to Sam.

"And then I'm guessing he went to the police and confessed?" Sam asked, taking another sip of his beer.

"Yep. Roma Downey made him do it," Dean said. I grimaced. Clearly he had been on lock-down too long, he was starting to watch daytime TV about angels. Dean stood up and crossed to the mirror where he had stuck a post-it note. He pulled it off and held it up.

"Now, I uh... I got the victim's address," he said with a smirk, waving it in the air. I looked over at him, in all his bravado and cockiness, shaking my head. He was a bit of an enigma sometimes Dean, soft one moment, hard the next – _often hard in more ways than one _I thought ruefully with a smile. My heart was cheerful just to look at him, and he was looking excitedly at us, seeing the chance to get out of the motel room again. He was practically giddy with anticipation.

* * *

**Victim's House**

While it wasn't easy in my current state to climb over fences, it wasn't impossible either. I was still pretty nimble and fit, it was just a matter of negotiating the ever-growing belly. Fortunately it wasn't that big yet, I had a moment to give thanks for the fact that I was in really great shape before I got pregnant, and was still holding a lot of that now. I climbed up on the dumpster by the trellis topped fence and waited for the boys to jump down first, then I swung my legs one at a time over the fence, supporting my weight by my arms only. Dean reached up and grabbed my hips, helping lower me to the ground. _See? Easy!_

Sam was at a window, using a knife to jiggle the lock. The snib moved from his manipulations and just like that, we had access to the victim's house. We crawled through the window and looked around the dimly lit house. It was winter, no lights were on and the sun was hiding its face behind a blanket of cloud cover. Sam found his way to a computer and sat down, while Dean and I were left with the task of searching the house.

I had finished with the upstairs bedrooms and bathroom, and came back down the stairs, watching my step as they were narrow and carpeted, the perfect combination to slip down.

"Find anything?" Sam asked me as I walked up behind Dean, who was standing next to the desk flipping through a catalogue. I shook my head, glancing at the catalogue.

"Well, Frank liked his catalogue shopping, but that's about all I got," Dean chimed in.

"Not much here," Sam said, looking at the computer screen. "Except he's got this one locked file on his computer, I can't... hold on." He frowned, looking intently at the screen, then pushed a few more buttons before smiling in victoriously. "Not any more!" Sam said as he was granted access, clicking on the file and staring. His face fell into a frown. "God."

"What?" I asked, watching his face.

"Well, he's got all these emails. Dozens, to this lady named Jennifer..." he paused for a second and then looked up at us, anger in his eyes. "This lady who is thirteen years old."

"Oh I don't want to hear this," Dean muttered, looking up from his catalogues.

"Looks like they met in a chat room. These emails are pretty personal. Look at that," he pointed to the screen. I moved to read over his shoulder, grimacing at what I saw.

"Setting up a time and place to meet..." I said with a sigh.

"Great," Dean muttered, shaking his head.

"They were supposed to meet today," I said, reading the email further.

"Huh. Well, I guess if you're gonna stab someone, that's good timing." Dean said thoughtfully, his handsome features starting to furrow into a frown. "I don't know, this is weird, you know? I mean, some spirits are out for vengeance, but this one's almost like a do-gooder, you know? Like a..."

"Avenging angel?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him. Dean turned away shaking his head.

"Well how else do you explain it Dean?" Sam asked. Dean threw his hand up in the air, still stubbornly in denial. "Three guys, not connected to each other, all stabbed through the heart? At least two were world-class pervs!"

I nodded at Sam, in complete agreement. "I bet if you dig deep enough on the other guy you'll find..."

"Hey," Dean interrupted me, picking something up. I glanced at him, annoyed that he'd just cut me off and broken my train of thought. I crossed my arms and glared at him, not really putting a whole lot of conviction behind the glare. This was a face paced job, cutting each other off to get to the next point wasn't exactly rare.

"What?" I asked.

"You said Carl Gully was a churchgoer right?" He asked, turning back to us. His eyes were shining with excitement.

"Yeah," Sam said quietly, shrugging because he didn't see where Dean was going with the question.

"What was the name of his church?" Dean asked.

"Uh, _Our Lady of the Angels, _why?" I said, eyeing him off carefully. Dean smirked and looked over at me.

"Of course that'd be the name..." he said, holding up a flyer. "Looks like Frank went to the same church."

I raised an eyebrow at him and shook my head. Well it was a better lead than what we'd had so far, at least it was a connection between victims.

* * *

**Our Lady of the Angels Church**

Our Lady of the Angels was a large stone building set in the heart of the city. It was surrounded by a concrete jungle, a couple of trees planted out the front, but everywhere else was grey and dreary. It sat on the corner of a busy intersection, cars coming and going constantly creating a steady stream of noise which broke up any semblance of peace in a holy place.

As we approached the steps Dean slipped the silver ring off his right hand and slid it on to my left hand ring finger. I nearly died on the spot, just staring at the ring, trying to wipe off all the conflicting emotions rising up within me. If I looked up he would read them in my face, so I kept my head bowed.

"Best look the part," he explained and I nodded carefully, plastering an amused expression to my face and raising my eyebrow as I looked at him. "This isn't a proposal," he added uncomfortably. I nodded again and rolled my eyes at him, trying to seem casual about the whole thing when the little girl inside of me was squealing with joy. I knew it was probably never going to happen, Dean was hardly the marrying type, but there was still a little schoolgirl inside of me who secretly hoped that it might one day.

Father Reynolds looked at us appraisingly when we entered the church, playing the happily married couple expecting their first child, Sam had stayed behind to do some research. Privately I reckoned he was trying out the _Magic Fingers._

"So you're interested in joining the parish?" Father Reynolds asked, looking happily at us as he showed us the large sanctuary. Two rows of seats flanked the walls and we were surrounded by stained glass windows, one of my favourite things about churches.

"Yeah, well, you know, we just don't feel right unless we hit church every Sunday," Dean said with a smile, sliding his arm around my waist.

"Where'd you say you lived before?" Father Reynolds asked.

"Uh..." Dean hesitated, looking down at me, and I saw him freeze at the question.

"Fremont, Texas," I answered for him, smiling.

"Yeah," Dean nodded.

Father Reynolds looked delighted at our answer, smiling and nodding before us. "Really? That's a nice town. St. Teresa's parish, you must know the priest there." He said, it was my turn to freeze, _shit, didn't think he'd actually know the parish!_

"Sure, yeah, it's uh, Father O'Malley," Dean said, using my father's name. I hadn't actually said the name in so long, I had all different aliases for every day use that it sounded almost alien to my ears. Most people just called me by Winchester, and none of us ever corrected them, it was too hard to explain, and after all, they just assumed I was John's daughter so should have his name too.

"Hmmm, I know a Father Shaughnessy," the man in front of us said with a frown.

"Yeah, sure, Shaughnessy... he was there too, wasn't he hon?" Dean said looking at me.

I nodded and smiled at the priest. "We're just happy to be here now, Father," I said, changing the subject.

"And we're happy to have you, we could use some young blood around here," he said, looking down at my stomach and smiling happily.

"Hey, listen, I gotta ask – no offense, but uh, the neighbourhood?" Dean led the man with a question, trying to get some information about the murders.

"Well it's gone to seed a little, there's no denying that," Father Reynolds looked sadly at us. "But that's why what the church does here is so important. Like I always say, you can expect a miracle, but in the meantime you work your butt off."

"Huh," Dean said. "Yeah we heard about the murders," he prompted, hoping the Father was chatty.

"Yes, the victims were parishioners of mine, I'd known them for years," he said somberly.

"And the killers said that an angel made them do that?" I asked, trying to put a level of disbelief into my voice.

Father Reynolds looked disgusted, shaking his head. "Yes. Misguided souls, to think that God's messenger would appear and incite people to murder," he said.

"So you don't believe in those angel yarns?" Dean asked, looking down at me smugly.

"Oh, no, I absolutely believe. Kind of goes with the job description," Father Reynolds said, pointing to his priest's collar. I pinched Dean lightly on the arm, this time sending him the smug look.

There was a picture on the wall, one that I recognised from many different churches, so many years of prayer to angels.

"Father, that's Michael, right?" I asked, pointing to the painting. It depicted a fierce angel with a flaming sword, pinning Lucifer to the ground in an epic battle of good versus evil.

"That's right. The archangel Michael, with the flaming sword. The fighter of demons, holy force against evil," the Father said to me with a nod.

"So they're not really the Hallmark card version that everybody thinks? They're fierce, right? Vigilant?" I asked. I kind of already knew the answer to this, but I needed to hear his take on it, to see if maybe there was a connection to what was happening here in his parish.

"Well, I like to think of them as more loving than wrathful; but yes, a lot of Scripture paints angels as God's warriors." He nodded, looking at us. "'An angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone down upon them, and they were terrified.'" He quoted from the Bible.

Dean looked confused and glanced over at me. "Luke. 2:9" I said to him, contemplating. Dean rolled his eyes at me when the Father wasn't looking.

Father Reynolds saw us out to the front of the church when we were done with our tour.

"Well, thank you for speaking with us Father," I said to him with a smile.

"Oh it's my pleasure. Hope to see you both again," he said genuinely. I looked at him, saddened, he was truly a lovely man and wanted to good in the world, too bad it was going to shit all around him.

Dean spotted a collection of tribute items at the bottom of the steps, I followed his gaze seeing candles, flowers, a cross. "Hey Father, what is all that for?" Dean asked, pointing to the make shift altar.

"Oh that's for Father Gregory. He was a priest here," Father Reynolds said, looking at the candles.

"Was?" Dean asked, curious.

"He passed away right on these steps. He's interred in the church crypt," the Father explained to us.

"When did this happen?" Dean asked, exchanging a look with me.

"Two months ago. He was shot for his car keys." Father Reynolds said sadly, fighting back emotions that were welling behind his eyes. He struggled to get the words out, clearly still grieving.

"Oh, how sad. I'm so sorry," I said to him, gazing at the candles.

"Yeah, me too. He was a good friend." Father Reynolds said quietly. "I didn't even have time to administer his last rites. But like I said, it's a tough neighbourhood. Even since he died I've been praying my heart out."

"For what?" I asked curiously.

"For deliverance. From the violence and the bloodshed around here. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose." He looked at us. Dean and I exchanged another thoughtful look.

"Well Padre, thanks. We'll see you again," Dean said to the priest and he nodded, returning inside. Dean loitered near the altar until he was gone and then he looked through the candles. There was a photo of Father Gregory there, and he picked it up, showing me.

"Well, it's all starting to make sense. Devoted priest dies a violent death? That's vengeful spirit material right there." I shifted uncomfortably, I had much preferred the idea of an angel out doing good in the world.

* * *

**Motel Room**

We'd returned to the motel and were filling Sam in on what our newest theory was.

"And he knew all the other stiffs, because they went to church here, in fact I'm willing to bet that because he was their priest, he knew things about them that nobody else knew." Dean was saying as he paced the room, pulling things together in the way only he could. He was a genius when it came to making connections like this, getting it from John. He might put himself down a lot, but at the end of the day, Dean was smarter than either me or Sam.

"Then again, Father Reynolds started praying for God's help about two months ago, right? Right about the time this started happening?" Sam asked, and I nodded at him. I so wanted to believe it was an angel, and Sam did too – he was always more of a believer than Dean.

Dean paused and looked over at Sam, a frustrated look on his face. "Aw, come on man, what's your deal?" He asked, throwing his hands in the air.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused.

"Look, I'll admit I'm a bit of a sceptic," he said. I snorted at that. _A bit? _"But since when are you all Mr. 700 club?" Dean asked looking at Sam who chewed on his lower lip, giving Dean the _don't piss me off _look he was known for.

"No seriously," Dean said, looking at us. "From the get-go you've been willing to buy this angel crap man. I mean what's next, are you going to start praying with Beth every day?" Dean asked. I frowned, crossing my arms and shaking my head.

"I do," Sam said quietly.

Dean looked at him shocked. "What?"

"I do pray, every day. I have for a long time," Sam said to Dean, then glanced over at me. I smiled, I had kind of suspected. He didn't do it the same way as me, Sam was a more "sit down and have a conversation with thin air" praying type. I had been raised by my mother to use candles, and my rosary, and to ask for the intervention of angels – not so much God.

Startled, Dean found himself a little speechless, falling silent. He shook his head and looked over at me. "The things you learn about a guy. Huh," he said with a contemplative look.

"So now we have to go check out Father Gregory's grave?" I asked, thinking about our next move.

"You've got it sugarpie." Dean said with a nod.

* * *

**Church Crypt**

The crypt was like a maze with so many different stone hallways leading off each other, many of them coming to dead ends. Dean and I led the way, I was lingering near him because I felt a little creeped out being down here, but I didn't want to admit it. Sam trailed behind us.

There were a lot of pillars with angelic statues on them, the cute cherub angels with dimpled bodies and feathered wings. Dean wandered further into the crypt and I looked around.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, seeing that we were now alone. Dean frowned and crossed back into the other room, pushing open the door we'd come through.

"Sam, come on, get the..." Dean's voice stopped and I saw in his stance that he was instantly alert and worried. "Sammy?!" Dean rushed forward and I ran back to meet him. Sam was laying on the floor, flat on his back.

"Sammy? Sammy! Hey!" Dean said, shaking our brother. Sam jerked awake and groaned.

"You ok?" I asked, crouching down in front of him with Dean.

Sam stared beyond the pair of us and I turned to see what he was looking at. There was a large angel statue with huge wings standing over us. "Yeah." Sam said, nodding at us. He looked up at the angel standing at his feet and he smiled. "Yeah I'm ok."

Dean reached down and helped him to his feet, guiding him back into the sanctuary, looking for somewhere we could sit.

Sam's eyes were dilated and glazed over a little as we led him beside us, he looked completely peaceful and happy. I stared at him, my mind in overdrive.

"You saw it, didn't you?" I asked, feeling my heart skip a beat at the idea.

Sam nodded excitedly at me. "Yeah. Yeah. Beth, I saw an angel!" He gripped my arm like a kid on Christmas morning and beamed. He sat down in a pew next to us and Dean pulled a flask out of his inner jacket pocket. He unscrewed the top and handed the flask to Sam.

"I don't want a drink," Sam said, waving it away.

Dean shrugged and took a long swig out of the flask himself before resealing it and putting it back in his jacket. "So," he said carefully, looking down at Sam. "What makes you think you saw an... uh.. angel?"

Sam smiled, his eyes glittering with love and joy. "It just... it appeared before me and I just... this feeling washed over me, you know? Like, like peace. Like grace." I watched him closely, Sam had the same expression in his eyes like Gloria had, he was devout, sure in what he had seen.

"OK, Ecstasy Boy, maybe we'll get you some glowsticks and a nice Dr. Seuss hat, huh?" Dean smirked, not believing a word of it.

"Dean I'm serious!" Sam said, leaning forward and staring at his brother. "It _spoke to me. _It knew who I was."

"It's just a spirit, Sam. OK? And it's not the first one to be able to read people's minds," Dean said, sitting down in another pew and turning a concerned look toward him. "Let me guess. You were personally chosen to smite some sinner, you've just got to wait for some divine bat signal, is that it?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam said calmly.

"Great..." Dean muttered, shaking his head. "I don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did?"

Sam looked at Dean and smiled. "Actually I did Dean, and the angel told me, he hasn't done anything." I frowned when I heard that. Sam continued when he saw Dean's look mirror my own. "Yet! But he will," Sam said, resolutely.

"Oh Sam, I don't know..." I muttered, chewing at my lip.

"I don't believe this!" Dean said getting out of the pew and starting to pace between us.

"Dean, the angel has been wrong yet! Someone's going to do something awful, and I can stop it!" There is was, the self-sacrificing, need to save a life Sammy Winchester who was struggling so hard against his inner demons, that he was willing to sacrifice his humanity to prove himself sometimes.

Dean stopped pacing and looked back at Sam. "You know, you're supposed to be bad too, maybe... maybe I should just stop you right now?" He said, his face had an incredulous look on it.

"You know what Dean? I don't understand! Why can't you even consider the possibility?" Sam asked, his words breaking off as he looked at his brother, tears of frustration in his eyes.

"What? That this is an angel?" Dean asked, eyes flashing with anger.

"Yes! Maybe we're hunting an angel here, and we should stop! Maybe this is God's will!" Sam looked at me imploringly, but I was starting to feel really uncomfortable with the direction this discussion was taking. I wasn't so sure how comfortable I felt about an angel running around telling people to kill, even if it was to kill evil people.

Dean started to pace again, shaking his head. "OK, all right. You know what? I get it. You've got faith. That's..." he looked over at Sam, his eyes softening. "Hey, good for you Sammy. I'm sure it makes things easier – it does for Beth." He glanced at me before sitting down again.

He hesitated, looking at Sam. "I'll tell you who else had faith like that – Mom. She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact, that was the last thing she ever said to me." My heart went out to him. His voice was short and matter-of-fact, and hid a moment of weakness. He didn't want it to show. No wonder he struggled so much. While my mother's faith had only bolstered my spirit and got me through her death, Dean had been half the age I was when my mom died, and obviously it had totally shattered his.

Sam looked shocked and I looked at him sadly. "Oh Dean..." I said, watching him with a sad expression.

"You never told me that," Sam said, tears in his eyes.

"Well, what's to tell? She was wrong." Dean said quietly, his eyes glittering with unshed tears. "There was nothing protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God. I mean, there's just chaos, and violence, and random unpredictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds." He took a breath, a smile of irony touching his face. "You want me to believe in this stuff? I'm going to need to see some hard proof. You got any?" Sam looked away, remaining silent.

Dean took a breath and then continued. "Well I do... proof that we're dealing with a spirit." I looked at him curiously, wondering what he had.

* * *

Father Gregory's tombstone was beautiful white marble, and it was covered by a creeping vine. Dean and Sam were crouched in front of it, investigating the plant.

Sam frowned, speaking "That looks like..."

"It's wormwood," I supplied, frowning. It was only over Father Gregory's headstone.

"Plant associated with the dead; specifically the ones that are not at rest. I don't see it growing anywhere else," Dean said, and we all looked around the crypt. "Except over the murdered priest's marker. It's him, Sam."

"Maybe," Sam said stubbornly.

"Maybe?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dean, I don't know what to think." Sam said, shaking his head. He was conflicted and it showed in his eyes. Whatever number this spirit had done on Sam, he was still believing it was an angel.

Dean stood up and came over to me, frowning. "What do you think?" He asked, looking down at me.

I sighed, looking into his eyes. Sam had stood up and was wandering over to another tomb, looking around.

"I think you're right," I whispered, and Dean looked relieved. "But we have to be really careful here Dean, these people that the spirit touched, they were almost fanatical in their beliefs once it was done."

We both looked over at Sam, who still had the same serene look on his face, like he truly had been touched by an angel.

"OK," Dean said, thinking out loud. "You want some more proof? I'll give you more proof," he said, walking up to Sam.

"How?" Sam asked, curious.

"We'll summon Gregory's spirit," Dean said and I shuddered. Summoning a spirit, in a crypt, oh yeah, nothing wrong with this picture at all.

"What? Here? In the church?" Sam looked mortified.

"Yeah. Yeah we just need a few odds and ends, and that séance ritual in Dad's journal," Dean said, thinking on his feet, nodding at his own words as he started to lead us back toward the exit.

"Oh, a séance, great. Hope Whoopi's available," Sam snorted, clearly thinking Dean was the one who had now gone mad.

Dean stopped and turned to stare at Sam, expressionless. "That's funny, actually." He said. "Seriously. If Father Gregory's spirit is around, a séance will bring him right to us. If it's him, then we'll put him to rest." The plan was sound, if we could pull it off.

"If it's an angel, it won't show. Nothing will happen Sam," I added, looking at the youngest of us. He nodded, and then smiled at the thought that Dean was about to prove himself wrong.

"Exactly," Dean said with a smile. "That's one of the perks of the job, Sam: we don't have to operate on faith. We can know for sure. Don't you want to know for sure?" Sam stood still and then nodded slightly to us, his eyes wary but conceding the point.

* * *

**Grocery Store**

I grimaced as we left the little corner grocery store. Glancing down into the paper bag I was carrying, I looked at all the ingredients we'd just picked up for our séance. Many of the things we needed were hard to do, so we were making do.

"Dean. I'll admit we've gone pretty ghetto with spellwork before, but this take the cake," I said, rolling my eyes and pulling out a rolled up plastic placemat. "I mean, a Spongebob placemat instead of an altar cloth?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

Dean chuckled and nodded. "We'll just put it Spongebob side down."

"Christ I hope we don't end up summoning Spongebob, that's just gonna be awkward," I muttered, starting to cross the street and heading back toward the church.

Sam and Dean laughed at my comments, before Sam stopped dead in his tracks, a shocked look on his face. He was staring at something behind Dean. My eyes followed his gaze to a young man holding a bunch of flowers, waiting on the side of the road for the lights to change.

"That's it," Sam said.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"That's the sign!" Sam said, pointing at something that clearly neither Dean or myself could see.

"Where?" Dean asked Sam, turning to look behind himself.

"Right there, right behind that guy! That's him, Dean. We have to stop him!"

The light's turned green for pedestrians and Flower Boy crossed over. Sam's face had twisted into a snarl and he was anxiously starting to cross the road after him. Dean grabbed his arm, frowning. "Wait a minute," he said to his brother.

"What are you doing? Let me go," Sam said, pulling back from Dean.

"You're not going to go kill somebody because a ghost told you to, are you insane?" Dean asked, and then looked like he regretted asking that question.

"Dean, I'm not insane, I'm not going to kill him. I'm going to stop him." Sam said, using semantics to argue his case.

"Define "stop", huh? I mean, what are you going to do?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at Sam.

"Beth, please, he's going to hurt someone, you know it!" Sam said to me, playing on my faith. I felt sick, I wanted to agree with him, but I wasn't going to do that. The look on his face was starting to scare me, he was way too eager, not questioning, just following the spirit's guidance without question.

"All right, come on," Dean said, nodding. Flower Boy had gotten into his car a short distance away, while we'd been arguing semantics, he had gotten in the car and driven wherever he wanted. Dean jogged across the road to the Impala, and got in the driver's side. Sam went to open the passenger door and found it locked.

"Dean, unlock my door!" Sam said angrily. I didn't even try my door, it was written all over his face, Dean was planning to keep us safe and sound.

"You're not killing anyone, Sam." He said to his brother. He glanced over at me, unrolling his window a little. "I got this guy, you go do the séance." I nodded and bit my lip.

Sam cursed at him and thumped on the roof. "Dean!"

Deal pulled the car away from the church going in the same direction as Flower Boy, leaving me at the side of the road. I looked over at Sam, he looked panicked.

"Sam," I said, and he ignored me, fighting an inner batter of sorts. "Sam!" I said again, louder. He turned to look at me, and met my eyes. "Let's go." I said quietly, leading us back toward the church where we would go to do the séance.

* * *

**Church Crypt**

Sam finished laying out the spell materials for me as I paced, starting to feel a little tired, the day had been a long one and I really needed to get back to the motel for a rest at some point. I pushed through the weariness with a couple of deep breaths and focused on the candles, a ring of small white pillars around a central tall black one.

John's journal felt familiar and comforting in my hands as I read over the Latin before me again, running the words through my head silently to get the pronunciation right.

Sam looked at me, nodding that he was ready and I started to read from the journal.

"Amate spiritus obscure," my brain tried to translate it as I read. _Beloved hidden spirit. _"te quaerimus, te oramus," _we seek you, we beg you, _"nobuscum collequere," _come speak with us, "_aput nos circita," _join our circle. _Sam sprinkled an herb on the black candle and the flame flared brightly before us.

"What are you doing?" A voice sounded from behind us and I spun to see Father Reynolds standing a few feet away. "What is this?!"

"Uh, Father please. We can explain..." I started, and then I looked down at Sam, and the ring of candles. _Crap. _"Actually... maybe I can't. Um. This is a séance."

"A séance? Young lady, you are in the House of God." Father Reynolds said chidingly at me. I grimaced.

"It's based on early Christian rites... if that helps any," I offered weakly, looking to Sam for a little help.

"Enough. You're coming with me," Father Reynolds said, taking a step toward us, taking my arm firmly in his hand and pulling me toward the exit.

"Father, please, you... just wait a second!" Sam said, standing up to look at the man.

There was a bright glow that suddenly came into the room and we all turned to look at it. It was awe inspiring! Father Reynolds' eyes brightened as he watched it, I squinted into the light and then looked over at Sam, his face was full of disappointment.

"Oh my god! Is that, is that an angel?" Father Reynolds asked.

"No, it's not," Sam said with a sigh. "It's just Father Gregory."

The blinding glow started to fade, and the figure that had once looked like a shining angel faded to reveal a handsome young priest standing before us.

"Thomas?" Father Reynolds asked, looking speechless.

Father Gregory smiled and looked upon us all with love and grace. "I've come in answer to your prayers," he said to us.

Sam and I approached him slowly, cautious that we didn't know what to expect from this wayward spirit. Gregory turned his eyes to Sam and looked upon him with surprise.

"Sam," he said quietly, "I thought I sent you on your path. You should hurry."

"Father, I'm sorry. But you're not an angel," Sam said to him, his voice full of heaviness.

"Of course I am," Gregory said smiling.

"No, you're a man. You're a spirit," I said gently to him, "and you need to rest."

"I was a man," Gregory argued with us in a lilting soft voice. "But now I'm an angel. I was on the steps of the church, and I felt that bullet pierce right through me. But there was no pain. And suddenly I could see... everything." Gregory's voice faltered and he looked at his older mentor with compassion. "Father Reynolds, I saw you, praying and crying here. I came to help you."

"Help me how?" The older man asked, his eyes glittering with tears.

"By punishing the wicked," Gregory said.

"Those murders – that was because of you?" Father Reynolds asked, surprised.

"I received the Word of God. He spoke to me, told me to smite the wicked. I'm carrying out his will," Gregory said to us with such certainty in his voice.

"You're driving innocent people to kill," I said to him, frowning.

"Those innocent people are being offered redemption." Gregory replied, looking at Reynolds. He paused, a small smile on his face. "Some people need redemption. Don't they, Sam?" I watched Sam and he looked uncomfortable with the statement, but I could see the truth in the statement Gregory had offered my little brother. He thought he was unworthy, that he needed saving from whatever the Yellow-Eyed Demon had done to him – and maybe he did, but this wasn't the way.

"How can you call this redemption?" Father Reynolds asked, shocked.

"You can't understand it now. But the rules of man and the rules of God are two very different things," Gregory said, his gaze falling on each of us in turn.

"Those people. They're locked up," Sam said a little angrily.

"No, they're happy. They've found peace, beaten their demons. And I've given them the keys to heaven," I thought I about Gloria, and the serenity now in her heart, and I sighed, he had given them something, some connection to a thing greater than themselves. Whether it was redemption I could not say, but it was easy to see how this spirit had convinced himself of his story.

"No. No, this is vengeance, it's wrong Thomas," Father Reynolds said, stepping closer to Gregory. "This goes against everything you believe. You're lost, misguided."

"Father. No, I'm not misguided," Gregory argued, shaking his head slightly.

"You are not an angel, Thomas. Men cannot be angels," Reynold said firmly.

"But...but I don't understand. You prayed for me to come," Gregory said, faltering in his conviction.

"I prayed for God's help. Not this. What you're doing is not God's will. '_Thou shalt not kill', _that's the word of God," Reynolds said to the young man.

I moved around the spirit to his headstone, standing next to it and drawing Gregory's gaze. He looked long and hard at it, bewildered, starting to become confused, like all spirits eventually did.

"Let us help you," I said to him softly.

He turned to look at Sam and Father Reynolds, then back at me. "No," he said, shaking his head.

"It's time to rest, Thomas, to be at peace," Reynolds said to him. "Please, let me give you Last Rites." I nodded, he was exactly right.

Father Gregory looked at his mentor and after a moment he nodded in resignation. Father Reynolds lifted his hands in prayer, bowing his head.

"Oh Holy Host, I call upon thee as a servant of Christ to sanctify our actions this day, in fulfillment of the will of God." Gregory started to flicker before us as the ritual kicked in, and Reynolds gasped, looking up.

"Father Reynolds?" Gregory asked, suddenly scared.

"Rest," Reynolds commanded him. Gregory hesitated, and then knelt before Reynolds. The latter placed his hand on the forehead of his young prodigy, his friend, and continued.

"I call upon the archangel Gabriel, Master of the Air, to make open the way. Let the fire of the Holy Spirit now descend; that this being might be awakened to the world beyond."

My mind was playing tricks on me, I was tired, suddenly very aware of how pregnant I felt, and the weariness it brought on me. I thought for a moment that I felt a presence in the room with us, but then it was gone, and the bright glow returned to light up all round us. When it vanished, Gregory was gone, and Father Reynolds lowered his arms, staring at us in awe.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

**Impala**

I had left Beth and Sam standing on the steps of the church, and now I was starting to think Sam had completely gone out of his freaking mind. I was following a man on a date, that was it. Nothing more and nothing less. He'd picked the girl up from the corner by her house, and they were driving around in his car. I was following them like I was some pervert looking for a good time.

He turned the corner ahead and it took me a minute to get there, when I headed down the street I'd seen him turn, there was no one around. I hit the steering wheel and cursed out loud. "Dammit!" He was gone.

Taking a deep breath I started to look into the driveways of the homes I was passing, thinking maybe he'd turned in to one of them. Tail lights flashed and I hit the brakes, squinting down a dark alley between two residential homes. He'd killed the lights, but not thought about the brakes when he'd come to a stop.

I edged the Impala behind them, turning off the lights and coming to a stop a good couple of car lengths behind where he'd parked. I waited, watching, just like a pervert would – grimacing at the ridiculous situations I often found myself in. _God dammit Sammy, you had better be right about this!_

There was a discussion happening in the car, and then the unmistakable sounds of a woman yelping, and struggling within the car. Within seconds I was out of the Impala, running toward the car. I tried the door handle. Locked.

Inside the woman was locked in a struggle with the man, he had a box cutter and was trying to cut her. Angrily I raised my elbow and smashed it into the driver's side window. The glass shattered at the impact, I reached in and punched the guy, slamming his face into the steering wheel, listening as he grunted. I flipped the locked open and the girl scrambled out of her door, crying.

I slid across the hood of the car in a hurry to get to her, grabbing her by the arms. "Are you ok? Are you ok?" I asked quickly, assessing her for any injuries. She grabbed my arms, whimpering.

"Thank god!" She said, nodding to me.

The guy came to and started the car as I pulled the girl away, watching him driving off.

"Damn it!" I cursed. "Are you sure you're ok? Do you have a cell phone?" The girl nodded at me, still sobbing. "Call 911!" I called out to her, leaving her by the side of the road, running for the Impala. Within a minute I was behind the wheel, and in pursuit.

I was hot on his tail, my knuckles white as I gripped the steering wheel, determined not to lose this son of a bitch. He was driving erratically, putting us all in danger, a truck cut across the road to do a wide turn, and the bastard veered off the road to get around him, cutting a grassy section of land. I easily followed in the Impala.

He skidded around a corner, and I followed. Out of nowhere it seemed like a truck carrying long metal pipes screeched to a halt in front of the guy's car. He wasn't expecting it, and slammed on his breaks. The pipes weren't secured and I watched in horror as they spun from the roof of the truck, one of them bouncing on the road before the guy's car, and then straight through the windshield. It impaled him and I skidded to a halt, not believing my eyes.

"Holy..." I said softly, awestruck. I got out of the car, walking around to look at what had happened. The pole was driven straight through the guys chest, pinning him to the seat. He was beyond dead. It was eerie.

* * *

**_Beth's POV_**

**Motel Room**

I'd been trying to ring Dean's cell phone, but he wasn't answering. It always made me sick to my stomach when that happened. It wasn't until Sam and I made our way back to the motel that I realised his phone had fallen out of his pocket and on the floor. I picked it up and looked at the screen, at least ten missed calls showing up, all from me. I grimaced, and placed it on the bedside table beside me, we had no way of reaching Dean.

Sam was sullen, moving about the room packing his things. Any attempt to engage him in conversation didn't work, so I lay down on the bed, exhausted. Sleep quickly claimed me. It couldn't have been long before I felt those soft lips brush across my forehead and I opened my eyes to see Dean in front of me, kneeling on the floor looking down at me.

"Hey," I smiled at him. "Where have you been?" I reached out to touch his face, and he returned the smile.

"How was your day?" He asked, not really answering my question. I sat up, looking at Sam who was fiddling with his duffel bag, silent.

"You were right. It wasn't an angel, it was Gregory," I said quietly, watching as Sam's shoulders slumped. I inclined my head toward our little brother and Dean nodded, standing up. He took the flask of whiskey out of his pocket, taking a drink and then offering it to Sam. Sam watched him silently, and then took it, raising the flask to his lips for a drink.

"I don't know, Dean, I just..." He sighed and sunk to the bed. "I wanted to believe, so badly. It's so damn hard to do this, what we do. All alone, you know?" He looked at me when he said this, tears in his eyes, and I nodded, I understood. Sometimes it felt as if there was no guidance from on high, as if we'd been left to drift, rudderless on an ocean of dark, troubling waters.

"There's so much evil out there in the world guys, I feel like I could drown in it," Sam said, also seeming to be lost in a water metaphor. "And when I think about my destiny, when I think about how I could end up..." His voice trailed off.

Dean looked at him confidently. "Yeah well don't worry about that, all right?" He said, sitting on the bed next to Sam. "We're watching out for you," he reassured Sam, looking over at me. I smiled and nodded at them both.

"Yeah, I know you are. But, you guys are only human... and I needed to think that there was something else watching too, you know?" He looked around the room. "Some higher power. Some greater good. And that maybe..."

"Maybe what?" Dean asked.

"Maybe I could be saved," Sam said quietly, and it broke my heart to see him so torn. "But, uh, you know, that just clouded my judgement, and you're right Dean. I mean, we've gotta go with what we know, with what we can see, with what's right there in front of our own two eyes."

"No Sam," I said, shaking my head. I stood and came around to the pair of them, sitting on the bed opposite them. I took his hands in mine, peering up at him.

"You can't lose your faith. I know it seems like there's nothing watching us, it's not always easy. But my dad always said, in the times when our faith is tested, that is when we need to pray harder, because those are the times when we need it most." I swallowed, I didn't talk to the guys about this much, it wasn't my place to dictate how they should feel, what they should believe, but Sammy... he needed to believe, and I hated to see him wavering like this.

"Yeah, well, it's funny you say that," Dean said quietly, looking at me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information," Dean said to Sam. "That guy in the car was bad news. I barely got there in time."

We gaped at him. "What happened?" Sam asked.

"He's dead." Dean said, looking down at his hand.

"Did... you?" Sam asked, hesitantly.

"No," Dean said, shaking his head. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. "But I'll tell you one thing." He licked his lips, swallowing. "If... the way he died, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it. I mean, I don't know what to call it." He looked confused, shaking his head.

"What?" Sam asked. "Dean what did you see?"

Dean hesitated, frowning and looking troubled. "Maybe... God's will?" His eyes were serious, holding that word in the air for all of us to ponder. I looked up at the room around us, and suddenly felt like we needed to go home. But we had no home to go to, we never had. The closest thing we had to it was Bobby's. I did a rough calculation in my head. It would take two days of driving, if we stopped for sleep – one full day if we didn't.

"I want to go home," I said quietly to the boys and they turned to stare at me.

"I want to be at St. Michael's for Christmas Eve," I whispered, suddenly I was hit with an overwhelming need to see that church, to be there for Christmas mass.

"Beth that's over 1500 miles..." Sam said sadly.

"I know," I said, biting my lip.

Dean looked at me, contemplating. He knew it never really bothered me where we were come Christmas, so long as I could get to a church. But we were all a little shaken by this last case. He looked at Sam and dragged a weary hand across his face.

"We'll share the drive," he said to Sam, who nodded. "We can make it."

* * *

**_1.5 Days Later  
Christmas Eve_**

**_Bobby's House  
_****Sioux Falls**

_**Cole's POV**_

Dad had never been much for Christmas, or decorations. But fortunately for me, when Beth joined the Winchester family at age fifteen, I gained a sister, and a _partner in crime. _The lives of those four men had changed irrevocably the day they brought us together.

Beth was a big believer in angels and loved Christmas. She was also not going to take no for an answer when John had told her they _"__didn't do Christmas," _I would never forget the way that conversation went down. Beth had won, like she usually did with John, and from then on, most Christmases were spent here, in Sioux Falls, in a jumbled up mix of traditions – a tree, presents (courtesy of John's credit card), church, dinner, and the drinking – of course.

Dad was having a drink now, looking a bit sullen as he prowled around the house. It seemed big and empty without the Winchesters. It had been a long couple of years, too many, where we hadn't actually spoken after Dad cocked a shotgun at John and told him to get the hell off the front porch. It had been my fault, all of it, and we'd all suffered because of it.

I fought down the usual sense of worthlessness and anger at myself. It was my first Christmas home in years, Dad and I were on tenterhooks – he was wanting to fuss over me like a mother hen, but every time he looked at me, he frowned because all he could see was the past in me. All he could see was John.

John. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought about the last time I'd seen him. Somehow I always ended up patching him up after one hunt or another, and this time had been no different. He'd shown up on my doorstep, bleeding and beaten – ranting about some demon, _the demon, _the one that had killed Mary and changed their lives forever.

When he'd left, somehow I'd known it was for the last time. There was a recklessness in his eyes that had told me he was on the final track, the one that would take him home to Mary, to be with her. The irony, that I was the one patching him up, I was the one in his arms, while all he could ever think about was her.

There was a pounding on the door and I paused from hanging ornaments on the tree. I'd made Dad go and get one even though he was sullen and miserable. It smelled fresh and wintery, just like Christmas. Beth had often talked about how Dean's kisses were like Christmas morning, it made me chuckle – that girl had always had a serious girl hard-on for that man.

I heard Dad's exclamation before I made it out of the library to the front door.

"What in tarnation?!" He cried, and I looked over his shoulder to see Dean, Sam and Beth standing on the porch, grinning from ear to ear. She saw me standing there and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Cole!" Beth said, excitedly and rushed past Dad to hug me. "I didn't know you were here..." she said, looking at me happily.

"Oh good god here comes the hormonal party," Dean muttered, pushing into the foyer. He gave me an awkward kiss on the cheek and grinned.

"Hey Cole," he muttered before heading straight for the fridge. Dad was hot on his heels.

"Something you need to tell me boy?" Dad said, gesturing back at Beth, standing there, looking, well a hell of a lot fatter than she had been the last time he'd seen her.

Dean grimaced, a beer bottle half raised to his mouth. Sam snorted and shook his head, he was carrying a couple of large bags in from the car – I saw Christmas paper peeking out from one of them – Beth had been shopping.

"Uh, yeah, about that..." Dean said, looking to Beth for help.

"You went and married that girl without inviting your own damn family?!" Dad cut in.

Dean looked shocked, and Beth startled beside me.

"Married? Huh? Bobby what are you..." Dean's voice trailed off as his eyes fell to Beth's left hand, she was wearing his silver ring.

"Oh!" Beth said, as if remembering for the first time that she even had it on. "Oh, no... we didn't... we're not," she stuttered, and started to pull the ring off her finger with a laugh.

"Yeah that was a cover for the last job we were on," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"Some cover, you dang fool! That don't look like no pillow shoved up her sweater there!" Dad was in fine form, he'd had a bit to drink so there was going to be no stopping what came out his mouth. Sam was pissing himself laughing in the other room as he listened in on the conversation, putting the presents under my half-decorated tree.

Dean and Beth looked a little sheepish and I saw her watching me. Dean was practically chugging his beer, getting ready to reach for another one. I shook my head and gave Beth another hug.

"Congratulations," I whispered in her ear and she beamed at me.

"So is it a boy or a girl?" I asked, looking from her to Dean. His eyes met mine and he groaned.

"Don't ask!" He muttered, and threw his hand in the air.

Sam was leaning in the arch way leading to the library. "You want in on the wager?" He asked casually, a smile plastered to his face.

"Wager?" I said. "You're seriously not betting on this poor child are you?" I chuckled, shaking my head. Just like a Winchester.

Dad was muttering under his breath. I'm sure I heard something come out of his mouth about Winchester men, and making Beth an honest woman. Dean just looked pained and left him to it, coming to join us, slipping his arm around Beth with a smile. Beth took his right hand and slipped his silver ring back on to his finger with a smile and kiss. I rolled my eyes, these too were too bloody cute for their own good!

"A hundred will get you in the bet for the sex, and we all pick a birth date, the loser has to go into the Roadhouse dressed in a diaper," he said with his eyebrow raised.

"Seems like a manly bet – but I'm not going bare chested into the Roadhouse, Dean. I'm in it for the cash. Cold hard cash Winchester." I said, pulling my wallet out of the bag that was on the table in the foyer. I removed a couple of fifty dollar bills from the folds, and handed them over to Sam.

"Boy," I said with a smirk. Dean snorted.

"Looks like you're the only one going for girl, Sammy," he said, looking over at his brother. Sam shrugged, looking nonplussed.

Beth giggled and I turned a shrewd eye to her. "Do you know?" I asked her, something wasn't right.

"No one knows yet," Dean said confidently. I raised an eyebrow at Beth. She shifted uncomfortably in front of us. "Oh no you didn't!" Dean gaped at her and she looked guiltily back at him.

He grabbed his duffel and started rummaging around in it, coming up with an empty envelope and brandishing it in front of everyone. Beth looked at him smugly.

"Where is the card?" Dean asked, referring to the card containing the sex of the baby on it.

"I ate it," Beth said with a grin.

Dean sighed and threw his hands in the air, looking defeated.

Sam burst into laughter at the expression on Dean's face. "This isn't a laughing matter angel boy!" Dean said, eyes narrowing at Beth.

We all laughed at him and shook our heads. "What the hell is wrong with you damn idjits?!" Dad had walked over, and was looking between us all. Beth was leading us into the library, her eyes on the tree, smiling.

She picked up one of the presents Sam had put beneath the tree and handed it to Dad.

"Merry Christmas Bobby," she said with a smile. Dad opened the small package up, trying to hold back a smile – he was always a little soft with Beth. The present was a book, it looked old, and fragile. Japanese characters were engraved into the leather cover. Dad looked at it stunned.

"Kojiki," he murmured, looking up at Beth in surprise.

She smiled and nodded. "Oldest version I could find, still in Japanese..." she said. Dad had an English translation, it was one of his favourite books. Beth was probably one of the only people who knew of his love for Japan, and that he was fluent in Japanese.

"Thank you baby girl," he muttered, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. He disappeared into the kitchen, carrying his new belonging as if it was made from gold.

"Nice one!" I grinned at her and she smiled at me, happy that Dad had liked it.

We busied ourselves for the next few hours finishing off the tree decorations. Dad had got out the eggnog and rum; the boys were getting right into that. It was funny to watch – Beth and I sipped away on the non-alcoholic version, it was one of my favourite parts of Christmas.

Beth's eyes were on the clock, it was coming up to 11.30pm. "Time to go?" I asked her, referring to the tradition she had of dragging us to Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Dean groaned, knocking back the last of his eggnog.

"Do we have to? Haven't we had enough angels for one week?" He asked, looking at Beth, his voice didn't match his words – he was teasing her, and she knew it.

"Hey, I'm not the one who said the words 'God's will' a day ago... I think maybe you're starting to become a believer Dean," Beth quipped and I snorted.

Dean rolled his eyes and got to his feet, "I'll round up Sam and Bobby, meet you in the car," he muttered, shaking his head.

Beth watched as he left the room, a smile on her face. "Told you," I said to her with a smug look. "Didn't I say you'd be one hell of a lucky girl one day?"

She nodded and grinned at me, then her face turned serious.

"How are you? Really?" She asked, taking my hand in hers. I watched her, feeling my guard drop just a little.

"Surviving, day by day." I admitted. "Big changes ahead, I just have to keep my head above water, it's what he would have wanted." I said quietly.

She nodded. "He gave me this, for you," Beth said, and she reached into her bag, handing me a small wrapped package. I held it for a moment, just staring at it. After a moment I broke open the tissue paper that Beth had obviously used to wrap it – sure as hell John wouldn't have wrapped it. Inside was a sheet of paper, curled up like a parchment. I tipped it and a ring slid out from the middle.

It was identical to the one Dean wore, and it had been John's. I fought back tears and sniffed, staring at the silver in my hands. Beth was silent beside me, just letting me work through the feelings. I was an emotional wreck, tired, sore and scared of what was to come in my life. Somehow this ring gave me some hope. I slipped it on to my ring finger, it was a little big, but I didn't care.

I smiled through tears at her and pulled her in for another hug. "Thank you," I whispered. She nodded and squeezed me tight. The paper had John's familiar handwriting on it, but I couldn't read it, not right now. I tucked it safely into my journal, and put it in my bag for later.

"You girls coming or not? We're gonna be late!" Dean yelled from the front porch. I laughed and wiped the tears from my face.

"Who would have thought he'd be so keen to get to church?" I asked Beth, she was looking just as surprised as I was.

"Yeah... well stranger things have happened," she said thoughtfully, helping me to my feet. We walked to the door, an arm around each other's waists. Christmas. We were all together again, and somehow, it just seemed like the heartache eased for a moment. It wouldn't be long and the harsh reality of life would set back in, but for now we could pretend, make believe that everything in the world was ok. Who knows when we'd get that chance again.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is: "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan  
It is so totally appropriate for all these guys - they all struggling in one way or another with needing to be saved, to be a hero, to fight back the darkness

* * *

The timeline on this one got changed to fit in with the developing storyline I have happening, this had to happen in December, not January. So hence why it's not just after New Years as in the show, but it's just before Christmas. Just in case you picked up on the discrepancy and wondered why :)

* * *

Wondering who Cole is? Better go check out EarthhAngel's story _How To Save A Life_ ! We've made a start on a crossover fanfic, Beth style :D It's a great John-centric story with OC Cole Singer, Bobby's daughter. I love her! She'll be guest starring in this series from time to time :D

* * *

Hope you enjoyed this story - Please leave a review! :D


	15. Born Under A Bad Sign

_**Author's Note: **I apologise in advance. I highly recommend chocolate (and/or bourbon) to get through the end of this one._

* * *

_An ache__  
__So deep__  
__That I__  
__Can hardly breathe__  
__This pain__  
__Can't be imagined__  
__Will it ever heal?__  
__Ooh... ooh..._

_Is anyone there?_

_I wanna scream__  
__Is this a dream?__  
__How could this happen,__  
__Happen to me?__  
__This isn't fair__  
__This nightmare__  
__This kind of torture__  
__I just can't bear__  
__I want you here__  
__I want you here_

_Ooh... ooh..._

* * *

**BORN UNDER A BAD SIGN**

* * *

_**Mason City, Iowa**_

Cars raced over the top of us as we leaned against the Impala, parked beneath an underpass. Dean was on his cell.

"Ellen, it's me again. Any chance you've heard from him?" Dean said, I watched his face anxiously. Sam had been missing for a week, we had been searching high and low for him.

"I swear it's like looking for our dad all over again, we're losing our minds here," Dean muttered into the phone. He paused and listened to something Ellen was saying.

"No, we've called him a thousand times, there's nothing but voicemail. I don't know where he went, or why. Sam's just gone."

My phone started to ring and I looked down at the caller ID … gaping. I answered it as quick as my fingers would allow, glancing frantically at Dean.

"Sammy? Where the hell are you? Are you ok?" I asked before he even had a chance to get a word out.

Dean startled at what I said, hanging up with Ellen and looking over at me expectantly. "Where is he?"

I listened to Sam rambling away on the phone. "Hey, hey, hey! Calm down Sam. Where are you?" He gave me the name of a motel and I nodded at Dean. "All right, ok, don't move, we're on our way." I hung up and moved toward the passenger seat of the car, Dean was already climbing into the driver's side.

"Is he ok?" Dean asked, as he started up the Impala.

"I don't know, he sounds upset, gave me an address to find him." I said to him and he nodded, putting the car into gear and roaring back toward the highway.

* * *

_**Twin Lakes, Minnesota**_

We were at the hotel within an hour and a half. Dean was out the door of the car before he'd even shut off the car. He reached back in, turning the key and I jumped out after him. Without checking at reception we headed straight to the room number Sam had given us. Dean was frantic, eyes looking at each of the numbers on the doors until we reached the right one.

"Sam!" He said, knocking at room 109. "Sam it's me. Sam!"

There was a pause and Dean exchanged a look with me, frustrated. He tried the door handle and it opened. Shrugging, he stepped inside. I looked into the room to see Sam sitting on the end of the bed, unmoving.

Dean and I came around to face him, perplexed. "Sam?" I asked, smiling when he looked up at me. "Hey," I said.

"Hey, Beth." He smiled weakly at me. Dean frowned and knelt beside the bed.

"Are you bleeding?" He asked, a concerned look on his face as he indicated the blood that was on Sam's hands.

"I tried to wash it off," Sam said, looking numb. Dean was pawing at Sam's jacket, pulling it back, his shirt was soaked in blood. Dean ran his hands over Sam's abs, looking for a wound.

"Oh my god," I said softly, worried.

"I don't think it's my blood," Sam said, looking at us confused.

"Well whose is it?!" Dean said sharply, looking at Sam, pulling his hand back.

"I don't know." Sam whispered, his brow creased in a worried look.

"Sam, what happened?" I asked, laying my palm against his cheek.

"Beth. I don't remember anything," he said, looking scared. I exchanged a worried look with Dean and bit my lip.

Half an hour later I'd gotten Sam cleaned up. He was freshly showered, dressed in clean clothes, and I'd sent Dean out for food. I was watching Sam out of the corner of my eye as he wandered over to the coffee and poured himself a cup.

The door to the room opened and Dean came striding in carrying a take out bag of fast food. He put it on the table and turned to look at Sam.

"What'd you find out?" Sam asked, looking at Dean.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora," Dean said, he paused and then smirked. "Of course I think the scariest part about this whole thing is the fact that you're a Bon Jovi fan..."

"Hey I like Bon Jovi!" I chimed in and Dean raised his eyebrow at me.

"I rest my case..." he grinned at me and I frowned at him.

"Dean!" Sam said, shaking his head at us.

"Oh yeah, so your room's been quiet, nobody's noticed anything unusual." Dean finished, shrugging.

Sam looked shocked. "You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?"

"Yeah. That's what I mean," Dean said.

"Then how the hell did I get here, Dean? What happened to me?" Sam asked, throwing his arms in the air, a perplexed look on his face.

"I don't know. But you're, you're ok, and that's what matters." Dean said, looking at me. I nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yeah, everything else we can deal with Sam," I said, tossing him an encouraging smile.

"Oh really?" Sam asked, looking sceptical. "Because what if I hurt someone? Or worse?"

"Sam..." Dean said cutting him off, giving him a stern look.

"What if this is what Dad warned you guys about?" Sam asked quietly, his shoulders slumping.

Dean looked up sharply and frowned. "Hey, whoa. Whoa, come on man, let's not jump the gun here, we don't know what happened. We've just got to treat this like any other job." He looked at Sam, who was still shaking his head sceptically.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked Sam, starting to rummage through the food bag Dean had put on the table, pulling out a bag of fries.

Sam leaned back against the bench along the wall, his brow furrowed in deep thought. "Just us, in that motel room in West Texas, going out to grab some burgers, and..."

"West Texas?" Dean asked, looking at him sharply.

"That was over a week ago," I said looking at Dean, he nodded, thinking hard.

"That's it," Sam said with a shrug. I was stunned. That was before Sam had even gone missing.

"Next thing I knew I was sitting here. Bloody. Felt like I'd been asleep for a month," Sam said, looking at his hands, no doubt seeing the blood that had been on them earlier.

"OK. Retrace your steps. The manager said you left yesterday afternoon and he never saw you come back, so..." Dean was walking around the room, he went over to the window, glancing out at the road. He paused, his eye catching something else.

"Hey," he said, glancing back at us and pulling back the curtain. "Look at this." There was a bloody fingerprint on the window. Dean raised an eyebrow and Sam just shrugged, well it was something at least.

* * *

Outside it was drizzling, I pulled the collar of my jacket up against the wind chill and cursed the Winter weather.

"Recognise anything?" Dean asked Sam, spinning around to look at our perimeter.

"Not really," Sam said with a frown. We walked randomly toward a parking garage out the back and Sam hesitated. "Wait..."

"What?" Dean asked him.

"I think I was here," Sam said, peering around at our surroundings.

"You remember?" I asked, curious.

"Not really, it just feels familiar, you know?" Sam said. Dean shrugged and headed for the nearest garage. Sam looked at the one next to him and pointed.

"Try that one," he said, nodding.

Dean moved over one door and tugged at the padlock on the handle. "Ok.."

"Wait," Sam said frowning, digging around in his pocket. He looked surprised and pulled a key out, handing it to Dean with a significant look. Dean frowned, but turned to the padlock, slipping the key into it. Perfect fit. He removed the lock and pulled the garage door up.

The only thing in the garage was a filthy, beat-up Volkswagon Beetle. Dean looked at it in disgust.

"Oh, please tell me you didn't steal this," he commented, looking appalled. Sam fidgeted next to him and I chuckled, he really wasn't anything like Dean and I, not really at all.

Dean stepped into the garage going to the passenger side, Sam took the driver side. Opening the doors they started looking around, I slipped in beside Dean, happy to be out of the rain.

Sam touched the wheel and held his finger up, it was stained in blood.

"More blood," Sam muttered. Dean pointed at the back seat.

"Sam," he said, nodding.

Sam reached down, picking up a blood-stained knife that pulled away from the seat with a sickening squelch. He held it up for us to see, gazing at it quietly.

"You think I used this on someone?" Sam asked, looking frightened.

Dean's expression was unreadable. "I'm not thinking anything," he said. Sam started rubbing the inside of the knife off with his jacket, removing his finger prints, his breathing getting erratic and panicked. Dean looked over at me, there was the briefest glimmer of concern that flashed across his face then it was back to the perfect hunter, cold and calculating.

"Ok now, this is disturbing," Dean said, picking up a pack of cigarettes. "Come on man, this couldn't have been you. Had to have been someone else, someone who..." he sniffed the packet he was holding. "...smokes menthols."

"Here," I said, pointing to the floor near Dean. "Gas receipt." He picked it up and nodded.

"It's a few towns over." Dean said, looking up.

* * *

_**Owatonna, Minnesota**_

We pulled up in front of the gas station, Dean read from the receipt we'd found.

"All right. Receipt's for ten gallons at pump number two. You getting any, uh, goosebumps yet? God, this looks familiar, deja vu vibes?" He asked, looking at Sam, who quietly shook his head.

"Well maybe someone will remember you inside," I offered and Dean nodded.

"Come on," Dean said, getting out of the car. We all went into the store and looked around. Upon seeing Sam, the clerk's expression looked freaked out.

"You!" He said, stepping back and looking at Sam. "Outta here now, or I'm calling the cops!"

I looked at him, surprised. "You talking to him?" I asked, hooking my thumb at Sam.

"Yeah I'm talking to him. Jerk comes in yesterday, stinking drunk, grabs a forty from the fridge, starts chugging it..." We all stared at the clerk, god-smacked.

"This guy?" Dean asked, raising an eyebrow and turning to Sam. "You're drinking malt liquor?"

"Not after he whipped the friggin' bottle at my head," the clerk said, dead serious.

"This guy?" I asked again, incredulous look on my face.

"What, am I speaking Urdu?" The clerk asked, looking at me like I was from out of space and couldn't speak English.

"Look," Sam said, "I'm really sorry if I did anything." He stepped one foot forward but the clerk held his hand up, the other bringing a phone to his ear.

"Tell your story walkin', pal. Po-po will be here in five," the clerk said, eyes flashing at Sam.

"Wait, wait, put the phone down," Dean said anxiously. I concurred, the last thing we needed was the cops being called down on us.

"Sam, go wait in the car," I said to our brother.

"But Beth..."

"Go wait in the car!" Dean ordered him, angrily. Sam sighed and left with a slump of his shoulders.

Dean turned back to the clerk after throwing a frustrated look at me. "Ok, look man. I just want to talk to you, that's it. Ok?"

The clerk hung up the phone and looked at us expectantly. Dean took a deep breath and nodded at me.

"Now, when he took off yesterday, where did he go?" Dean asked the man. He looked at both of us with a smirk.

"Why don't you ask him?"

Dean turned steely eyes to him, all humour falling from his face. "'Cause I'm asking you." He said, eyes narrowing.

I stepped forward and placed a hand on Dean's arm, urging him not to freak out on the clerk like Sam evidently had yesterday.

"Please, you'd be doing us a huge favour," I said to him.

"Oh, I'd be doing you a huge favour," the clerk said with a raised eyebrow. "Well that is what I live for. You know your boyfriend didn't pay for the booze, ok? Or the smokes, which he also illegally lit up!"

I frowned. "You saw him smoking?" Dean asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Guy's a chimney," the clerk said. Dean looked at me and cleared his throat, rolling his eyes. I looked out at the window at our clean-cut brother and shook my head, it was like he was describing a completely different guy.

Dean pulled out his wallet and I couldn't help but grin at him, parting with cold hard cash, usually earned via hustling pool was like pulling teeth to Dean. He grimaced, shaking his head. He pulled a couple of bills out and put them on the desk.

"This, uh, ought to cover it," Dean said with a pained expression.

The clerk looked at us smugly. "Hmmm. It's uh, it's coming back to me now. He took two packs," he said, raising an eyebrow.

Dean glared at him, removing a couple more bills from his wallet and putting them on the counter. "Of course he did." The clerk took the money, pocketing it.

"He went North. Route 35, straight out of town." Dean nodded and turned to guide me toward the door, he stopped and grabbed a couple of candy bars from the display shelf near him, nodding at the clerk with a smirk. I shook my head and walked out of the store, Dean chuckling all the way behind me.

* * *

**Impala  
****Route 35****  
**

It had gotten dark quickly, but then it always did this time of year. We were driving down a dark two-lane road. Sam was in the back seat, and had been silently staring out the window for the last twenty minutes. Dean kept looking in the mirror at him every few minutes, and I could see him battling not to start on the lecture, to let it go, but eventually his impatience wore thin.

"What's going on with you Sam? Hm? 'Cause smoking, throwing bottles at people, I mean that sounds more like me than you," he said, and I snorted at the image. Dean had come a long way from that lifestyle in the last few years, but he was right – it was nothing like Sam.

"Dean, wait, right here. Turn down that road," Sam said suddenly.

"What?" Dean asked, confused at the change of topic.

"I don't know how I know, I just do," Sam said just as cryptically. Dean shrugged and did a U-turn, slowing down until he saw the road that Sam had indicated. It was a little back road to a private property.

A half mile down from the main road we saw a house, it was shut up and dark. When we got out of the car, sensor lights clicked on, lighting up the area out front. We took all this in with a curiosity.

"Whoever lives here, I'd say they don't like surprises," I said, nodding at the security camera mounted over the lights.

"Should we knock?" Dean asked with a grin. I tilted my head.

"Yeah, I guess we should," I said with a chuckle.

Dean and I stood out the front and knocked on the door while Sam wandered off to peer through a window.

"Hey guys," Sam said, shining his flash-light on the window ledge. The window was broken and shards of glass lay over the ledge.

"I'm surprised the cops didn't show. Place like this you'd think it'd have an alarm," Dean commented.

"Yeah you would," Sam said as he looked around the corner, finding the alarm box: it was disabled, and it looked like it'd been done by a pro.

The door was unlocked when we tried it, another ominous sign. We carefully made our way through the house, there was broken glass all over the floor and miscellaneous items scattered about. Dean entered a room and spotted a body on the floor.

"Get the lights," he said, and I flipped the switches near me at the door.

He knelt by the body, rolling it over to face us. A middle-aged man had a deep cut across his throat, he had been dead a few days at least. Dean covered his mouth with his hand and just stared at the body, I fought a rising nausea. Sam looked horrified and glanced over at me.

"Guys, I did this," Sam said, a certainty to his voice.

"We don't know that," Dean said, still looking down at the body.

Sam scoffed. "What else do you need? I mean, how else do you explain the car, the knife... the blood..."

"I don't know man, why don't you tell me?" Dean asked shortly, turning to face us.

"Look, Sam, even if you did do this, I'm sure you had a good reason; you know, self-defense or something," I said looking over at Sam.

Dean patted down the body and came up empty. "He doesn't have any ID."

"I need your lockpick," Sam said randomly, looking at me.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Where's your lockpick?" He asked, holding out his hand. I sighed and reached into my jacket pocket. Sam took it and used the pick to gain entry to a double-door closet in the room.

He pushed the doors open and we gasped at the sight before us. An entire room filled with firearms, charts and newspaper clippings.

"Oh boy," I muttered under my breath.

Dean looked at me, face grim. "Either this guy's a Unabomber..."

"Or a hunter," Sam said, looking panicked. "Guys I think I killed a hunter."

I looked about the room, and caught sight of what had to be the fifth security camera I'd seen so far. "Well, let's find out," I said, nodding toward the camera in the corner.

We located the computer that contained the footage from the security cameras. I bit my lip to stop from showing any emotion when the murder scene unfolded. Sam was fighting with the exact same man who was dead before us. The fight moved off camera, and then Sam dragged the man back into the frame. He knelt down and then pulled the man up against his legs, slitting his throat.

Sam stared in shock at the footage, not believing it. Dean stood back from the desk and pulled his shoulders back.

"How do you erase this? Huh? Sam, come on, I need your help," Dean said, suddenly all business, he started fussing around the house, cleaning up where we had been, wiping prints and getting rid of any other evidence we'd been there.

Sam was sitting morosely at the computer.

"I killed him Dean. I just broke in and killed him," he said despairingly.

"Listen to me. Whoever this guy is, he's a hunter. Which means that other hunters are going to come looking for his killer, which means we've got to cover our tracks, ok?" Dean said, the fierce reality of what had just happened came crashing down on us.

"His name was Steve Wandell. This is a letter from his daughter." Sam was caught up in his own guilt, not listening to a word Dean had to say.

Dean looked from me to Sam, and then made a decision. He grabbed the computer, lifting it above his head, and smashed it to the floor. He began stomping on it, breaking the components apart to ensure that they couldn't be salvaged. Sam looked startled at the violence.

"Wipe your prints, both of you, then we go," he ordered us.

* * *

**Motel Room  
**_**Faribault, Minnesota**_**  
**

Sam led the way into the motel room, I rubbed my eyes, the day starting to catch up with me. I was feeling sick to my stomach, and I frowned, it had been a while since I got any sickness related to my pregnancy.

I went into the bathroom and ran the water in the sink for a while. Dean paused in the doorway, a concerned look on his face.

"You ok?" He asked. I looked around at him and smiled.

"Yeah, just feeling a bit sick, but I'm sure it'll pass." I answered. "How's Sam?"

He frowned and shook his head at me, which was as much to say that he was worried, and didn't know what to do about it. I stood and sighed, I didn't know what to do either. It was times like this that all I wanted was for John to be around, to guide us.

Dean turned back to the main room and looked at Sam who was standing around, not moving.

"All right, we get a couple hours sleep and then we put this place in our rearview mirror." Dean declared, tossing his duffel bag against the wall near our bed. He glanced at Sam, who still hadn't moved.

"Look, I know this is bad, okay? You've gotta snap out of it." Dean said and Sam turned to stare at him.

"Sam, say something," I said from the bathroom door, eerily aware that he had slipped into brooding, and that never boded well.

"Just get some sleep and leave in the morning?" Sam asked, shaking his head and scoffing. "Murder, Dean. That's what I did."

"Maybe," Dean muttered, tossing my bag on the floor beside his.

Sam scoffed at the word and Dean frowned. "Okay? Hey, we don't know...maybe he was a bad guy, a shapeshifter?!" He was grasping at straws, trying to explain away what he'd seen on the video footage.

"Oh come on!" Sam said, shaking his head. "You know it wasn't, you saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion."

"Yeah, but it wasn't you! All right? I mean, yeah it might have been you, but... it _wasn't you." _Dean said, I smiled at his not-so-well-formed argument.

"Well, I think it was," Sam said and the words chilled me to the bone. He sat down on the bed, and looked up as I joined them. "I think maybe more than you know." He said quietly.

"What are you talking about Sam?" I asked, confused.

"For the last few weeks I've been having... I've been having these feelings." Sam said to us, peering at our faces.

"What feelings?" Dean asked with a frown, moving to sit on the other bed opposite him.

"Rage. Hate." Sam said, his face starting to fall. "And I can't stop it. It just gets worse. Day by day it gets worse."

"You never told us this," I said softly, my face showing nothing but the concern I was feeling for Sam.

"I didn't want to scare you guys... you have the baby coming, you've got enough on your plate." He said to us.

Dean sighed and hit his knee, standing up and stalking past me. "Well bang-up job on that!" He exclaimed angrily.

"Dean, the yellow-eyed demon, you know he has plans for me. And we all know that he's turned other children into killers before, too." Sam argued with us, watching for a sign that he was starting to get through to either of us, that we were starting to see him for who he really was.

"No one can control you, but you." Dean said forcefully to Sam.

"It sure doesn't seem like that, Dean, it feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely I'm, I'm just becoming.."

"What?" Dean asked shortly.

"Who I'm meant to be. I mean, you said it once yourself, Dean. I gotta face up to who I am." Sam said.

"I didn't mean this!" Dean said loudly.

"But it's still true!" Sam stood up to face off with his brother. "You know that. Dad knew that too, that's why he told you, if it ever came to this..."

"Shut up Sam," Dean muttered, shaking his head.

"Dean, you promised him. Beth... you promised me," Sam said, and I frowned.

"No," Dean said, turning to Sam and looking him in the eye. "Listen to me. We're going to figure this out. OK? I mean, there's got to be a way, right?" He looked at both of us, his eyes full of uncertainty.

"Yeah there is," Sam said quietly. He took a handgun from his duffel bag, and he shoved it in Dean's direction. Dean waved it off, walking across the room. Sam turned to me and grabbed my hand, placing it firmly in my grip.

"Beth, I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you," he said quietly.

"You won't," I said to him, "Whatever this is, you can fight it Sam."

"No. I can't." Sam said, tears forming in his brown eyes. "Not forever. You gotta do it." His eyes were begging me to kill him, to put a stop to it. His face was contorted and pained at the decision, but there was a surety in his eyes.

I stared at Sam for a long time, his eyes watching mine, and then Dean moved behind me, reaching around and taking the gun from my hand. Sam looked his brother over and let out a half sob, half sigh.

"You know, we've tried so hard to keep you safe," Dean said from just behind me.

Sam nodded tearfully. "I know."

I closed my eyes, I couldn't watch this, I couldn't even be a part of it. I fought back a cry and pushed past Sam, heading for the door. I had to get outside into the fresh air. The walls of the room were closing in and the nausea was getting stronger. I swallowed hard and grabbed my jacket as I walked out, closing the door behind me.

* * *

_**Dean's POV  
**_**Motel Room**_**  
**_

Beth left the room in a hurry and I felt secretly relieved to have her out of the room when Sammy was acting like this. He was being an idiot, what was he thinking, asking her to shoot him? If I wasn't going to do it, no way in Hell he was going to convince her to.

"I can't," I said to Sam after a long moment, holding the gun in my hand. "I'd rather die." I dropped the gun on the bed and shouldered past Sam toward the bathroom. Sam turned to me, not giving up.

"No. You'll live." He said quietly, and I turned to face him, confused. "You'll live to regret this." I didn't even see it coming, but I felt it, the cold hard metal of the pistol as it hit me in the face. Everything swum before me, and I fell to the ground passing out.

There was a loud insistent banging on the door and it woke me. I found myself on the floor, and it was daylight. How long had I been out? The door to the room opened and I sat up, looking around.

"Hey. It's past your checkout," the Manager of the motel room said to me. I shook my head and then noticed Beth on the bed. I ignored the manager and crawled over to her. She looked alive, unharmed. I grabbed her shoulders and gently shook her.

"Beth, Beth!" I said urgently. She moaned and tentatively moved her head from side to side.

"Dean?" She asked, licking her lips.

"Yeah, yeah it's me, are you ok?" I asked, helping her to sit up. She ran her hands over her belly and along her thighs and nodded.

"You can't stay here!" The manager said again from the doorway. "It's past checkout and I've got a couple here needs your room."

I looked past him to see a man in a business suit with what looked to be a cheap hooker from the corner standing there.

"Yeah I bet they do," I muttered at him and Beth smirked.

"Let's go," I said to her and she nodded, grimacing at the pain in her head.

"What time is it?" She asked, as I slipped my arm around her waist, helping her toward the door.

"Twelve thirty," the Manager said to us, rolling his eyes.

"That guy who was with us, have you seen him?" I asked as Beth stepped away from me, checking her balance. She seemed ok.

"Yeah, he left before dawn in your car, and you should have gone with him, because now I'm going to have to charge you extra," the man said to me.

"Son of a …." I muttered, thinking about the car being gone.

"It's just policy sir," the manager said, thinking I was cursing about him.

"We need to use your computer," Beth said from behind me, she looked at me with a plan in her eyes, and I felt better already.

"Now why would I let you use my computer?" The manager said. I smirked at him and cocked an eyebrow. _Same reason everyone lets us use their computers when we needed it_. I thought, _cold hard cash._

I left the manager counting a stack of cash and went to join Beth. She was on the phone, sitting on a stool in front of the reception computer. I slid my arms around her waist, resting my hands on her stomach, taking a moment to just relax before everything hit the fan.

"Hi, yes, I'm sorry to bother you, but my son snuck out of the house last night and, uh, went to a Justin Timberlake concert." Beth said, smiling at me. She paused and listened to the person speaking on the other side.

"What? Oh yeah, Justin is quite the triple threat. But anyway, he's not back yet, and, and I'm just starting to worry," she continued with her best _trust me _voice available.

"Right," she said in reply to whatever the operator had said. "Yes, boys will be boys. But see, Sammy is a diabetic, and uh, if he doesn't get his insulin..." her voice dropped off momentarily. "I just have to find him. Please, I'm begging you... Yeah, no, no, I'm on the website right now, I just need to activate the GPS in his cell phone." She hovered her hand over the number pad and then entered a code when it was read to her.

"Yeah, right there. Duluth, Minnesota." She looked at me, still listening to the person on the other end. "Yeah," she said, "that is a long way to go for a concert. Well I appreciate your help." She hung up and turned to look at me, there was a worry in her eyes which I couldn't read.

"What?" I asked.

"I know where he's gone," she said to me. I looked at her blankly, shrugging.

"That's where Cole is," she said and I gaped. I knew Cole had kind of disappeared after Christmas, moving on like she always did. She hadn't really been coping since Dad's death, and I just didn't want to look at that, didn't want to touch it with a ten foot pole. She was a year old than me and to think that she and my Dad... well, I shuddered. He was a sly dog my Dad, but really, something about that whole relationship there seemed oh so wrong.

She'd rocked up to her father's for Christmas a month ago and she'd been fairly far along in a pregnancy. In fact she'd been ready to drop. I didn't want to look at that one either. Cole had always been a bit of a flirt, so who knew who the father was, Dad certainly had never said anything about any baby. I'd questioned Beth, but she either didn't know or she was keeping it from me, because she'd been tight lipped on the subject.

I grimaced and nodded, leading Beth out toward the door. Next step was to get another ride to Duluth, it was going to be at least a three hour drive, and Sammy had one hell of a head start on us. I just hoped Cole had been smart enough to keep her head in the game all these years, and didn't fall for Sam's sweet routine.

* * *

_**Cole's POV**_

_**Duluth, Minnesota  
**_**Cole's House**_**  
**_

JJ was finishing up nursing and I put him down in his bassinette, watching the tiny little person before me drift off into a milk-induced sleep. There was a knock at the front door downstairs and I covered myself up with a frown. Who the hell would be calling at this hour?

I went to the door, ready to curse out whoever it was, and got the shock of my life.

"Sam!" I said, surprised to see him standing on my doorstep without a call to let me know he was coming. "Well you're about the last person I'd expected to see."

"Well, I guess I'm full of surprises." Sam said with a smile. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, you want a beer?" I asked, I think I had some left in the fridge from when I'd had a few work colleagues back for pre-Christmas drinks last year.

"Yeah, that'd be good, thanks Cole," Sam said to me, entering the house. I led him into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle from the fridge, sitting it down in front of him on the island bench.

"So how'd you find me?" I asked, curious. There was only one person who knew where I was, and she'd never tell a soul, that much I knew.

"Well, uh, it's kind of what we do, you know?" Sam said, looking at me smugly.

"Speaking of we... where are Dean and Beth?" I asked, wary of the fact that two of the terrible trio were missing.

"Oh they're holed up in a motel going at it like a pair of rabbits," Sam said with a smirk. I looked him over with an appraising eye. He was so much older than I remembered. It had been a long time since my Dad had sent us all packing over my relationship with John. Sam was grown to man now, even if he did seem a little anxious tonight.

"So what are you doing here, Sam?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Um, just thought I'd check up on you, wanted to square things away with you" he said, his eyes running over me. "You had the baby!" He said, shocked, and I nodded carefully. I'd been due any day after Christmas, the baby had ended arriving New Years Eve.

"Boy or girl?" Sam asked, taking off his jacket.

"Boy," I said quietly. I noticed a circular burn mark with a short line through it on his forearm, and I grabbed it, the nurse in me coming out immediately.

"That looks like it hurts," I said, frowning.

"No. No, just, just had a run-in with a hot stove," Sam explained, pulling away from me.

He got up, walking into the living room. "What's his name?" Sam asked, and I drew in a sharp breath. This wasn't really how I wanted to tell them. I didn't know how you tell someone that their family just got bigger when they weren't looking.

"John," I said quietly, waiting for him to connect the dots.

Sam turned to me and shook his head. "Boy, you're really carrying a torch for him, aren't you?" Sam said. I looked at him, eyes steady. Sam had always seemed a little uncomfortable around John and I, but I didn't expect him to get nasty about it.

"I'll take that as a yes," Sam said when I said nothing. "It's too bad, you see. Cause Dad, he liked you, sure, it would never have been anything more than sex. He was too obsessed, consumed with hunting to be able to offer anything of real value in a relationship. I mean, look at my mom, he could have done something about that demon, but instead he was all about rescuing me from the fire. And...look at that chupacabra... where was he then? He wasn't protecting you. He was just trying to save me, like always." I frowned and walked to the other side of the room. Something in his tone was making me feel very uncomfortable.

"He..." Sam smirked. "He thought you were a schoolgirl Cole, you know? Just one of us kids. He took advantage of you." His eyes softened at my hard expression. "I'm not trying to hurt you Cole, I'm telling you because I care," he continued, looking over at me.

"Well that's real kind of you Sam," I said to him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"I mean it," Sam said, his eyes bleeding through to concern. He came up to me and laid a hand on my shoulder possessively. "I care about you a lot."

"Sam, what are you talking about?" I asked, frowning at him.

"I can be more to you Cole," Sam whispered to me, leaning in to me, a darkness in his eyes that I had never seen before. This was not the same teenaged boy I'd grown up with.

"Maybe you should leave," I said to him levelly.

He stared at me for a long moment and then he dropped his hand from my shoulder. "OK." He said, nodding. He turned to leave and I followed him into the hallway that ran between the kitchen and living room to the front door.

Suddenly he spun and grabbed me, pinning my arms to my side, his face pressed against mine. He shoved me up against the wall, leaning in to my body.

"Sam, get off me!" I said, trying to break his hold. "Sam, get off me! Sam!"

I broke free with one hand and grabbed a lamp off the table next to me. Sam intercepted my wrist, slamming it against the wall, forcing me to drop it. He wrenched my head to one side, kissing along my neck, working his way up to my ear.

"Cole, Cole, Cole..." Sam whispered as he reached my face. He spun me, shoving me face first against the wall, his body pressed against the length of me.

I gasped, and felt the telltale signs of a panic attack blanketing me. "Sam, no, no!" I said a little pitchy. Sam thrust his hips against my back, grunting as he pushed me harder into the wall, shocking the breath out of me. "Please! Please!" I begged, squeezing my eyes shut. _God, this is a never ending fucking cycle with me, not again! _I struggled against him, battling the demons within, as he ran a hand down my front, cupping my breast and massaging it. He groaned into my neck and then pulled the collar of my shirt back, biting me hard causing me to hiss from the pain.

"Sam, Sam... please don't do this." I said, a sob breaking from my lips. Sam turned me again, knocking me to the wall as he forced his lips over mine. He twisted my arms above my head, pinning my wrists with one hand, the other sliding under my buttocks, lifting me higher against the wall, because I was so much shorter than him. He held me, pressed firmly against him, and thrust his tongue into my mouth, probing me urgently and without permission. His mouth bruised mine and I fought him but I simply wasn't strong enough.

He broke away from me, staring into my eyes. All I could see was darkness there. "Sam... let me go, you don't want to do this..." I said, willing him to come to his senses. He smirked, looking across at me. He'd lifted me so high I was level with his own face. I grimaced at what was to come, and then I threw my head forward, head butting him in the nose, I connected with a disturbing crack.

Sam roared back from me, releasing his hold and dropping me to the floor. He reacted quickly however, grabbing an arm and twisting it behind my back, pushing me against the wall again before I could retaliate.

"It didn't have to be this way," he muttered in my ear, then he grabbed a fistful of hair. "Or maybe it did..." he said pulling my head back before ramming it into the wall. I felt myself slip from consciousness.

* * *

_**Cole's POV**_

Everything around me was hazy, I shook my head but it only amplified the ringing in between my ears. I was tied to a chair, and when I looked up I found myself staring into the deep brown eyes of Sam again.

"What the hell is going on? Why are you doing this Sam?" I frowned, looking at the man who was like a little brother to me.

He was different, not the same quiet and comfortable boy I'd grown up with. Sam would never look at me as if he wanted to eat me up."You're not Sam," I said, looking at him.

"Don't be so sure about that." He said to me, eyes glittering.

"What exactly did Beth tell you about Dad's death?" He asked, looking me over, changing the subject.

I closed my mouth, and stared at him. Sam sighed and pulled a chair over so that he could sit right in front of me. He leaned into my face, his expression changed and he looked concerned. Something glittered in the street light and I realised he was holding a knife, he looked at it, pricking his fingertip and smiling at the blood that welled there. He took the blade and ran it down my face, not cutting, just brushing it against my skin.

"Come on Cole. It's me. You can tell me anything, you know that. _Answer the question." _It was an order, and I looked at him warily, conscious of the knife playing at my throat.

"Fine," I growled through gritted teeth at him.

"Fine," Sam smirked back at me, leaning away to sit back in his chair.

"She said it was quick, that he didn't suffer, and that all he wanted was for his children to be safe." I ventured, watching him.

Sam snorted. "That's just like Dad, playing the sacrificial lamb. He's so selfish, he doesn't do anything unless it suits him."

"He did what he had to do for Dean," I said, and I knew without a doubt that was not a lie.

"Hmmm... not quite," Sam said to me, tilting his head to the side and leaning in to me.

"The _thing _got too greedy, wanted more, wanted Beth." He said, staring at me. "John could have gotten away with just handing over the colt, but the stupid idiot got Beth involved. Let her find him. And so to ensure the demon wouldn't harm her, Dad gave up his soul."

"You're lying," I said to him, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not, it's true," Sam said. "Daddy gave up his soul for little _Beth," _he said it in sing song, smiling at me.

"How could you know that?" I asked. From what Beth had told me, John had been alone when the deal went down. Sam couldn't know.

"I hear things," Sam said with a twisted smile.

"Why are you doing this Sam?" I questioned him, and his mouth twisted into a smile. He ran a hand along my leg, brushing along my inner thigh. I jerked at the touch, and fought to breathe. Sam's eyes glittered at me, and he took out a rag and shoved it into my mouth.

"I like it better when you're silent," he whispered in my ear. "Did Dad? Or did he like to make you scream?" He turned to stare at me. "I can do things to you that he never could have dreamed," his hands returned and slid along my sides, coming up to grasp my face. I fought him, defiant eyes glaring at him. "That's my girl..." He said to me, turning me to face him.

"You never figured it out, you were always too obsessed with my selfish son of a bitch father. Never saw what was right in front of you." Sam said to me, angry eyes searching mine. "I would never have left you," he muttered at me.

The look in his eyes was terrifying. He was going to hurt me and there was nothing I could do about it. I struggled against the gag, fighting back the panic attack that was edging all around me, still present from earlier. I coughed, and groaned into it, breathing quickly through my nose, but I couldn't get enough air.

Sam stood and looked down at me, hatred in his eyes. He watched me as I started to black out from the lack of oxygen getting to my lungs. There was a sound outside, someone coming up the steps. He smiled and I screamed through the gag, fighting to free myself of the bonds. I felt the sharp stinging of broken skin as he hit me across the cheek, and I fell silent, refusing to give in to the urge to whimper. I would not show him how weak I was.

There was the sound of breaking wood as my door was kicked in, and Sam plastered himself against the wall closest to where they would enter from the doorway. Dean rounded the corner first, gun at the ready. His eyes widened when he saw me tied to the chair and he moved toward me. I tried to draw his attention to Sam, but he ignored me.

Beth wasn't far behind him, and I yelled into the gag as Sam grabbed her from behind. She broke his hold and swung at him, spinning with a kick to try and get some distance between them. It wasn't quick enough, he knew her fighting style too well, and she was encumbered by the baby. He grabbed her wrist, twisting it behind her and rammed her hard against the wall. I gasped, watching in horror – _what the fuck was Sam thinking?! _

Beth groaned and slumped against the wall. Sam didn't hesitate, pulling her against him and holding a knife to her throat, using her as a living shield once Dean spun on him with the gun.

"Sam!" Dean shouted at him, his eyes full of fury.

"I begged you to stop me, Dean," Sam said desperately.

"Put the knife down, dammit!" Dean ordered him, his eyes assessing all his options, of which there were not enough. We were in a very dangerous predicament, and at the moment, Sam held all the cards in front of him.

"I told you I can't fight it! My head feels like it's on fire, all right?! Dean. Kill me, or I'm going to kill her." He tightened the blade against Beth's neck, drawing blood. She flinched, closing her eyes and sagged weakly back against him, trying to pull away from the knife.

"Please Dean. You'd be doing me a favour! Shoot me," he said to his brother. Dean hesitated, looking from Beth to Sam, shaking his head.

Sam growled with frustration, pushing Beth to the floor and landing a kick to her stomach. She collapsed and Dean struggled to pull the trigger. Sam picked her up again and flung Beth across the room to collide with the wall. There was the sickening sound of plaster cracking as she hit, and crumpled to the ground. Dean looked as shocked as I felt, his grip on his gun tightened, his knuckles turning white.

"_Shoot me!" _Sam screamed at Dean, advancing on him, arms out like a target.

Dean looked between Beth and Sam, rage in his eyes, tempered only by his need to save his brother, to protect him. "No, Sammy, come on." Dean said, lowering his gun and turning away from his brother, moving toward Beth, to help her.

"What the hell's wrong with you Dean? Are you so hung up on Dad's orders to protect me that you'd let me kill Beth? Your own baby?!" Sam yelled, his eyes full of contempt and anger.

Dean turned on his heel, a spray of water flinging out from the flask he had pulled from his jacket. It hit Sam and it hissed and steamed.

"That's holy water, you demonic son of a bitch!" Dean yelled at him.

Sam raised his head to look at us, but this time his eyes were solid black. I took a sharp breath and watched. Dean flung more holy water at Sam, who growled, looking around at us all before turning to run and smash through one of the living room windows, fleeing into the night.

Dean rushed over to me, picking up the knife that Sam had dropped when he threw Beth across the room. He cut the ropes at my wrists free, turning to Beth once I could undo the binds at my ankles on my own.

"Holy shit, he was possessed?!" I said, after pulling the gag out of my mouth. Dean looked back at me and nodded.

Beth was looking pale, and breathing shallowly by the wall. She hadn't moved since she hit it, but she tried to sit up as Dean crouched in front of her, looking at her assessing.

"Go," Beth said weakly him as I reached their side. Dean shook his head.

"Dean that's our brother out there, I'm ok, you have to go," Beth argued and Dean's eyes turned to me, conflicted.

"Go, I'll take care of her," I said simply, and reached for the phone. I was half way through dialling 911 when Dean kissed Beth quickly, nodding at her before jumping out the window.

"Dammit," I muttered, looking at her. She wasn't good, and she'd just lied through her teeth at Dean. There was the tell tale signs that she was going into shock as her eyes started to dilate right in front of me. I had to get her to a hospital, and I had to get here there now.

* * *

_**Dean's POV  
**_

**Warehouse**

There was a warehouse three houses down from Cole's house, I followed the trail the demon had left me, entering into the crowded warehouse. It was as if it wanted me to find it. Gun in hand, I had the safety off and finger on the trigger. I didn't know if I could use it, if it came down to it – this was Sam out there, but I was fast coming up empty handed with other options.

I'd just left Beth at the house, and I had no idea what shape she was in, but I had to do my duty, I had to get this demon out of my brother. A footstep fell ahead of me, echoing in the warehouse and I caught a glimpse of Sam's white shirt in the dark. I crept after him, but he was moving quickly.

"So who are you?" I asked loudly, my voice echoed back in the darkness.

"I got lots of names," Sam's voice said to me, but it wasn't Sam, it was a demon.

"You've been in Sam since he disappeared, haven't you?" I asked, starting to piece it all together. I had to keep him talking, so I could track the sound of his voice.

Sam's laughter rolled across the darkness to me. "You should have seen your face when you thought he murdered that guy. Pathetic!" It said back to me.

I backed against a low wall, looking out ahead of me, but I couldn't see anything. "Why didn't you kill me? You had a dozen chances," I asked it. It was baffling, but then I didn't pretend to try and understand the motives of demons, they were hardly on a level playing field when it came to sanity levels.

Something smashed to the floor on my left and I turned to look, then heard the scurrying feet of Sam move in the other direction.

"No, that would have been too easy. Where's the fun in that?" Sam's voice was speaking, but it sure as hell wasn't his words coming out of his mouth. " See, this was a test. I wanted to see if I could push you far enough to waste Sam. Should have known you wouldn't have the sac. That baby has made you weak." There was another pause and I ducked behind a table. "Anyway," Sam's voice echoed to me. "Fun's over now."

"Well I hope you got your kicks," I said to it, "because you're gonna pay hell for this, I'm gonna make sure of that."

"How? You can't hurt me. Not without hurting your little brother," the demon said back to me. "You see, I think you're gonna die Dean. You, and every other hunter I can find... one look at Sam's dewy, sensitive eyes? They'll let me right in their door." I paused, looking down at my gun and put it away in my jacket, pulling out the flask of holy water instead.

"And then I'm gonna come back and take care of those sisters of yours, and that bastard baby too – pity your father is already in Hell, would have liked to make him watch while he could do nothing to protect his children." I frowned, what the hell did this have to do with Dad?

A door swung open and I heard it leave the building, taking the flask I jogged after it, the door led to an open-air dock. I followed cautiously, not knowing what to expect, so expecting the unexpected like Dad had always taught us. I plastered myself against the wall of the warehouse, peeking around the corner. Sam was nowhere to be seen. There was only one way off the dock, and that was the way I'd come, unless you wanted to take a moonlit swim.

I frowned, contemplating. He was gone, vanished. I walked over to the side of the dock, looking down into the water. When I turned around Sam was standing a good ten feet away. He raised his gun at me and fired. The bullet pierced my right shoulder, and the force of the bullet tore through me, pushing me backwards into the water. I felt myself sink into the darkness, and all I could think was I had to move, _I had to move_, but I couldn't, my arm was useless. All this time, and I was going to die drowning, how ironic was that?

* * *

_**Cole's POV**_

**Docks**

Dean's phone was still ringing out to voicemail, I hit redial and clutched my phone to my ear. _"This is Dean. Leave a message." _It was the tenth time I had heard him say that and I was starting to freak out. _Where was he? _My fingers just went automatically to redial as I walked along the pier, my eyes searching for anything that might lead me to him. Faintly I heard it, _Eye of the Tiger _and I started to run.

The ringing was coming from the bottom of a ramp that led out to the water. Dean was lying at the bottom of it, unconscious. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and backtracked to the ramp entrance.

"Dean!" I called out, reaching him, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him hard. "Dean!" He woke up when I turned him over, grimacing as he clutched at his shoulder and groaned. "Take it easy," I said, looking him over. This was going to be another one of those _stitch him up _moments – all too common between Dean and I.

He was soaking wet and shivering from the cold, groaning in pain as I shifted him into a seated position. "Where's Sam?" He asked, looking at me.

"I don't know, I've been looking for you. Come on, get up," I said, helping him to stand. He leaned on me heavily, clutching his shoulder to his side. "Where's Beth? You left her on her own?!" He said angrily, limping beside me.

I slipped my arm around his waist to support him and rolled my eyes. "Easy lover boy, she's fine, my neighbour is with her and the ambulance is on its way," I explained.

"Ambulance?!" He frowned at me.

"Yeah..." I said quietly, my voice fading. He looked over at me, reading my expression and his eyes hardened at what he saw there. Picking up the pace, he struggled to move through the warehouse faster, suddenly all thoughts of Sam were out the window.

The ambulance was pulling away as we got there. Dean was panting from the pain in his shoulder and I opened the Impala's door for him, pushing him into the passenger side. I looked up at my neighbour, standing on the front porch and she waved at me with a smile, JJ in her arms. I nodded and waved back before getting into the car, I knew she would take care of things in my absence.

We weren't far behind the ambulance by the time we got to the hospital, Dean's face was set in a grimace and he was grinding his teeth. I wasn't sure if it was from the cold, the pain or the worry – but I figured it was probably a case of all three. Dean was eerily silent on the ride to the hospital, I knew the way by heart, I drove it almost every day. Even with the short cut I always took, we didn't beat the ambulance. I saw Beth being wheeled in to the emergency room at the same time as I drove by looking for a park.

"Come on, come on!" Dean muttered impatiently as I pulled into an empty car spot. I cut the engine and jumped out, coming to help Dean out of the car. He pushed me away, and shook his head.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

**Hospital**

"Get off me!" I growled at Cole, pushing her back impatiently. "I'm not a freaking invalid!"

"Shut up Dean, you've been shot you moron, you've lost a lot of blood." Cole said, shoving me toward the ER entrance. "We need to get you patched up, pronto."

"Not before I see Beth, where would they be taking her?" I said, nodding in the direction of the now empty ambulance as we walked slowly into the ER. I stopped for a moment, fighting off a headspin. Cole slipped her arm around me and I gave in, letting her support me a bit as I moved further into the building.

Suddenly we were surrounded by a team of nurses and doctors, people pulling at me and fussing. Cole was talking to some of them, she knew them from work. My shoulder was throbbing and I was chilled to my bones, I was starting to reel from blood loss, but I wasn't going to admit it to anyone.

I pushed past a few nurses, holding my shoulder close to ease the pain. This was hardly a priority, I would live.

"Cole!" I yelled back at the mousy blonde short-ass who was speaking animatedly with a doctor. She looked at me, panic in her eyes. I sure didn't like the look of that.

"This way," she said to me, nodding toward a room. I gritted my teeth and moved forward, opening the door to the emergency treatment room.

"Sir! Sir you can't go in there!" A nurse tried to stop me.

"Like hell I can't!" I muttered, pushing past the tiny waif. I heard Cole exclaim in surprise behind me and a lot of cries going up as I pushed into the room.

There was a blood-curdling scream that echoed through the room and I felt my blood run cold, I was sure I turned about three shades whiter.

Blood was everywhere, the bed, floor, and down her legs. I'd never seen anything like it, how the hell was she even still alive? A doctor was sitting at the end of the treatment bed, doing an internal procedure, a nurse was attaching an IV to her wrist. Beth thrashed in agony against the bed and I froze.

"Oh shit!" Cole exclaimed from behind, stopping short of running into me. "Beth!" She looked up the sound of Cole's voice and whimpered, slumping back into the pillow behind her.

"Dean..." it was barely a whisper and it stilled my heart.

"What's happening?" I asked the doctor, moving to her side, watching in alarm as more blood spilled from between her legs. Beth clutched my hand and trembled.

"Oh god, I'm losing him..." Beth whimpered, and I shook my head, brushing the hair out of her eyes.

"No you're not, it'll be ok." I looked at the doctor who returned my gaze and she shook her head slightly. Cole took in a short breath and there were tears in her eyes.

"Yes I am..." Beth whispered, turning her face into my shoulder. I flinched at the contact, but didn't pull back.

"Beth," the doctor said gently, looking up at us. "You're hemorrhaging, and I can't stop the bleeding, your uterus has sustained some damage and it's not contracting like it should. I need to do a D&C to remove the remainder of the placenta."

"Wait, the remainder?" I said, looking over with a frown. The doctor looked at us compassionately and nodded.

"I'm afraid she's already passed the child," the doctor said. Beth sobbed into my shoulder and Cole looked faint.

"Are you ready Beth?" The doctor asked and she nodded, a look of slight terror in her eyes.

One of the nurses laid her back and she closed her eyes, biting her lip. After a moment she hissed, squeezing my hand for all it was worth. "Ahhhhhh," she whimpered, struggling for breath. I watched helplessly as her back arched off the bed and she screamed, bashing the headboard with her free hand. "God!" She cried out, screaming again. I'd never heard anything like it come out of her mouth, it was primal, guttural, and heart stopping to listen to.

Cole was at Beth's other side her eyes on Beth's monitors. "Doc, her O2 sat is dropping and so are her respirations. I'm gonna put some Oxygen on her at five litres per minute." The doctor simply grunted an affirmative.

Cole grabbed the mask from the wall behind her and clamped it over Beth's mouth and nose, flipping a few dials next to the tubing. "Breathe!" She ordered Beth, and I heard her gasp for breath as the gas started to fill the mask. Beth relaxed a little, until the doctor moved again, doing whatever it was I didn't want to know about.

"Almost done Beth," the doctor said encouragingly.

"Fuuuuck!" Beth groaned pulling the mask back, squeezing her eyelids tight against the pain. "Oh god make it stop!"

"Keep breathing Beth, put the mask back on," Cole said, guiding it over her nose and glaring at one of the other nurses with a shake of her head. "Might have been useful ten minutes ago..." Cole muttered under her breath at me. I raised my eyebrow. Beth took some deep breaths, shuddering with each release. The doctor was explaining something about what she was doing but I wasn't listening, there was a roaring in my ears and I felt a rage seeping into my bones.

The doctor finished up and Beth sank into the pillow, eyes shut, her chin tucked down into her chest, her breathing starting to even out now the pain was over. I stroked her forehead and leaned in to kiss her. She reached out a hand to touch my cheek, pulling my face in to hers. "Don't leave me," she whispered, a tear squeezed out from behind her eyelid.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said, running my cheek along hers, kissing her cheek again. She smiled and closed her eyes again, I watched her, hand resting gently on her head, stroking her forehead as her breathing slowed and within ten minutes she was fast asleep, still holding on to my hand. I panicked a little, seeing all the blood and wondered if she should be allowed to sleep.

"Is she ok?" I asked the doctor and she nodded.

"She's been through an ordeal, we gave her a sedative, we'll monitor her closely because she's lost a lot of blood. But it's best to let her rest right now," she frowned at me, and for the first time I realised what a mess I must look.

Cole was tugging at my clothes in a mother hen manner, and I pulled back, batting her hands away. "Leave me alone Cole," I said and she tutted at me.

"Don't argue with me Dean, you're bleeding, you need stitches, and you're sopping wet!" Cole snapped. "Stand up!" I gave up, feeling light headed and heart broken, letting Cole call the shots until I felt my pants getting yanked to my ankles.

"What the hell Cole?" I asked, looking furtively around. The nurses in the room were looking at me appreciatively and I realised that somehow between Beth's procedure and now, Cole had managed to strip me down to my boxers.

She was rubbing furiously at me with a towel and I shifted uncomfortably. She held out the towel and raised an eyebrow.

"Lose 'em," she said, and I looked down at my boxers.

"Hell no!" I exclaimed.

"Here," she said, tossing me some clothing, I grimaced. Scrubs. I hated these damn things. But I did have to concede, they were dry. I stared down the nurses who were trying to look like they had something to do in the room. Cole followed my gaze and growled at them.

"Get out! What are you ten?" She said angrily and shooed the nurses out, receiving some glares for her efforts. "Sorry," she muttered, turning her back to me.

I sighed and dropped the rest of my wet clothing, drying off with the towel and then slipping into the scrub pants – guess I was going commando until I could get to my duffel bag in the car. I left my chest bare for the stitches, grimacing at the pain whenever I flexed my shoulder or moved my arm.

"OK," I said, sitting with a sigh. I ran my hands over my face and drew in a haggard breath while I watched Beth with an assessing eye. Cole turned back to me and nodded approval.

"Better," she said softly. She took the tray she'd been fiddling with on the bench and put it on a wheeling table, coming over to me.

Ten minutes later she was digging around in my shoulder for the bullet. She'd given me a shot of something but the sensation of the movement was making me groan just the same.

"Don't be a baby!" Cole chastised.

"Bloody Hell..." I muttered back at her, taking the flask with the whiskey in it and chugging down a few mouthfuls.

"Almost. All right, got it. Got it," Cole muttered from in front of me. She dropped the bullet into a little stainless steel kidney dish and I groaned.

"God, you're a butcher." I said to her, smiling just the same.

"You're welcome," Cole said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at me.

"All right, are we done?" I asked, anxious to get a few more clothes on and just close my eyes for a few.

"Would you give me two minutes to patch you up? You're no good to anyone if you're bleeding to death," Cole snapped at me. She finished off the stitches she was making, and laid some gauze and tape over the wound.

There was a crew in the room mopping up all the blood. I stared at it, my eyes trailing up over the blood-soaked sheet on the bed, over Beth's legs. I sighed, looking at her, she was for the moment peaceful, but I doubted it was going to last. Her screams from earlier echoed in my mind and I shook my head to clear it.

"We need to clean her up," I said to Cole and she nodded.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it, don't worry" she said, standing to leave the room. She paused near the door and looked back at me.

"How did you know?" Cole asked. "That he was possessed?"

"Uh, I didn't." I said, over at her. "I just knew it couldn't have been him." She looked at me thoughtfully.

"Dean?" Cole asked, watching me.

"Yeah?"

"I know demons lie, but do they ever tell the truth too?" Cole asked, looking troubled.

"Uh, um yeah, sometimes I guess." I said with a shrug. I hissed at the pain from that movement and made a mental note not to do it again for a while. "Especially if they know it'll mess with your head. Why do you ask?"

Cole considered something and then shook her head, looking over at Beth. "Nothing. Doesn't matter. So do you have any idea where he's headed next?"

"Well, so far he's been going after the nearest hunter, so..." I waited for her to think it through, for the location to sink in. Cole's eyes widened in horror when she realised.

"Let's go," she said quickly, looking at me.

"Yeah. No you're not coming." I said to her with a shake of my head.

"The hell I'm not, that's my dad you're talking about!"

"I can't say it more plain than this. Bobby and I will handle it. You need to stay here and deal with things, you have a new baby, and I need to you watch over Beth." I said, glancing down at Beth, who was starting to move in her sleep.

Cole nodded, resigned to what I was saying. She had responsibilities here, I knew that, she knew that – but I understood. I understood the need to drop all that and just chase vengeance.

"Here," she said, holding out a bottle of pills to me. "These will help with the pain." I nodded.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"I'll be back in a bit with clean sheets, _do not leave her alone," _Cole instructed me, looking down at Beth. I rolled my eyes and snorted, taking a seat again. Hellhounds couldn't have dragged me from this room.

I tapped a few pills into my hand and washed them down with a glass of water from the bedside table. I settled in to wait for Beth to wake up, scrolling through my cell phone. I dialled Bobby's number, and just hoped I had enough time for him to get prepared for what could be coming.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

**Hospital**

Fresh sheets. Clean floor. Broken heart. I sobbed as soon as I woke up, everything coming back, crashing in around me. Dean startled awake next to me and reached out to run his hand along my back. I felt the mattress shift as he climbed on to the bed, settling in behind me and wrapping his arm around my waist..

"I'm so sorry baby," he whispered in my ear. I stared at the wall, my breathing coming in short gasps as I struggled to come to grips with what had just happened.

"I can't believe it..." I sobbed, burying my head in his shoulder, needing to feel that pulse beating in the crook of his neck. I rolled to face him, moving so he had more room on the bed. The faint smell of leather, pine and sandalwood hit me as I nuzzled into the bare skin at Dean's neck, it was earthy, grounding, and pulled me back into my senses. I inhaled deeply, savouring the contact.

It was then, as soon as I felt reconnected to my body that I felt the loss. The empty hole inside of me where just a day ago there had been kicks and playful movement. Heart wrenching sobs fell from my soul, and I buried myself into Dean again, he wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight and just let me cry.

"How much more do we have to give?" I asked forlornly, sitting up to look back at Dean. He shifted, moving up against the headboard, grimacing as he moved his shoulder. For the first time I realised he was injured.

"You're hurt?" I whispered, seeing him coddle his left shoulder a little.

"Don't worry about it, I'm ok," he said quietly, using his right arm to guide me on to his lap. I curled up into him, resting my head against his collarbone, burying my nose in the crook of his neck again, breathing deeply.

Hot tears formed as I felt my stomach spasm a little and a gush of liquid spill between my legs. I shuddered as I relived that kick to my stomach, Sam's boot connecting with me, the air expelled from my lungs. Dean's arms wrapped instinctively around me.

"You're right... there is no one looking out for us... there's nothing but evil." I whimpered into Dean's shoulder, biting my lip. He murmured at me in a comforting way, his hand tracing soft circles at my back. I felt like a child who was being rocked to sleep on her mother's lap, only I wasn't being rocked, and it wasn't my mom, but I still felt safe and protected.

Cole came into the room, stopping short when she saw us curled up on the bed. She looked at me sadly and walked to the side of the bed, peering over at me. Reaching a hand out she tucked my hair behind my ear as I stayed leaning against Dean's chest, eyes watching her, full of tears.

"I'm sorry baby girl," she said gently, biting her lip. I let out a shuddering sigh and nodded, she didn't have to say it, we were all feeling it.

Cole turned to look at Dean, their eyes met and I felt him tense up.

"Dad called," she said to him, I closed my eyes and only half listened to them, my mind on the empty feeling inside me. "It's done." I felt Dean nod and shift just a little with me still on his lap. His heart beat started to pick up under my ear and I frowned at the sudden change in his physiology.

Sitting up a little I turned a cautious eye to Dean. "What's going on?"

He sighed and pressed his forehead into me. "Nothing you need to worry about, ok?"

"Yeah we got this Beth, you need to rest," Cole said, frowning at me.

"Got what?" I asked, "_what's going on?" _My voice was pitchy and I suddenly found it hard to breathe, short gasps pulling the air agonisingly into my lungs, piece by piece.

"Shhh, don't Beth, don't upset yourself," Dean said quietly, his hand changing to run up and down my back instead of in circles.

"Don't upset myself! You're the ones not telling me something!" I frowned, sitting up and glaring at them. Dean's eyes looked sadly at me, then he glanced at Cole who was looking contemplative. She nodded, almost indistinguishably at him, and he returned the nod.

"We have Sam, at Dad's in a devil's trap." Cole said quietly. I felt my blood run cold. Sam. I hadn't even considered what was happening with him until now.

"We need to go..." I said, suddenly feeling panicked, thinking of my little brother trapped inside his own body.

"You're not going anywhere for a few days apple-pie," Dean said to me, turning my face to look at him. He searched my eyes, looking for something to tell him I was ok. I didn't feel anything right now except panic, and emptiness. I saw the resignation in his eyes however, and I chewed on my lip, torn.

"You have to go..." I whimpered, tears coming to my eyes again. It was the same old choice, what came first? Our duty to each other, or our duty to Sam, to Dad?

"How much do we have to give?" I whispered again, and Dean's eyes faded to anguish. He pulled me in to him again, and settled me against his chest.

"I'll stay," he said quietly, holding me. I believed him. I heard it in his voice, the determination, the choice that just for once he was putting our own needs above anyone else's. Sam's words echoed in my mind: _"I begged you to stop me Dean." _Tears fell from my eyes again, streaming down my face and I let out an excruciating sob.

"No..." I said, the word barely a whisper. "It's Sam," I said looking up at him. "It's Sam!" I chewed on my lip.

"He can bloody well wait!" Cole said forcefully, anger in her eyes. "Fuck it Beth, _it can wait!" _She started to pace beside the bed, looking at the two of us. "He's not going anywhere, leave it for a day or two... hell leave it a good damn week, it won't matter."

"You don't know what it's like," I said to her, my eyes suddenly drying up. "And this is Sam..."

Cole came to a stop in front of me, shaking her head from side to side, her light brown curls bobbing around her face. "_I don't care," _she said angrily. Same old impetuous Cole, tough exterior, but only to hide the pain housed within.

"I do," I said gently, looking up at Dean.

Someone cleared their through in the doorway and the three of us turned to see the doctor standing there, watching us with a concerned look.

"How are you feeling Beth?" She asked, crossing to look at my charts.

I leaned into Dean and sighed. I felt like curling up somewhere and dying, that's how I felt. I felt like my whole world had been ripped apart overnight, and the pieces left in tattered ruin upon the cold hard earth. I felt abandoned, as if just one more thing that was good in my life had been ripped from my arms. I shook my head, tears welling in my eyes again.

"Bit of a loaded question there Doc," Dean said for me, his hand sliding up under my hair and softly stroking the back of my neck as he placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I'm sorry, I know this must be very difficult for you," she said, replacing my chart and moving around to stand next to Cole, watching me.

"I have a few more things I need to cover with you, if you're up for it?" She looked at me questioningly and I nodded solemnly.

The doctor took a deep breath and there was a sadness hidden behind that tough, professional exterior. If we hadn't been trained to read people, we might have missed it, but it was there.

"Because you were 21 weeks along, we need to register the child as a stillbirth." she said, I blinked, I hadn't even considered the logistics of what had happened. Dean's arms tensed around me and he watched my face anxiously.

"Uh, what does that exactly mean Doc?" He asked, frowning, his hand resting lightly at the back of my neck, warm and comforting.

"Well, we will report the birth to the registry, you will have the choice of whether or not to name your baby, and you can request a birth certificate from the hospital for your own records. Many parents find this a natural, helpful part of the grieving process." She told us all this by rote, as if she'd said it a thousand times before. "You also need to decide if you would like to bury or cremate the remains." I felt my stomach sink at that thought, and soundless tears ran down my face, unstopped.

"Think about it, you don't have to make any decisions right now, but you will need to complete the paperwork before you leave the hospital," she said. I nodded, silent. Dean was speechless.

Cole watched us and the doctor excused herself. I wiped at my nose and eyes with some tissues that Cole had placed near me.

"Did you have a name picked out?" She asked, curious. I shook my head, chewing at my lower lip. We'd thought about John, but then Cole had told me she had named her baby John. John Jnr... Dean didn't know yet, he was still really uncomfortable with the whole idea of Cole and John having had any sort of romantic encounter.

"Patrick," Dean said quietly, brushing his lips across my temple. I looked at him in surprise. He smiled sadly. "After your dad, if you want..." he offered tentatively.

"Yeah" I nodded, happy with the choice. "Patrick Dean?" I asked softly and he leaned in to me with a kiss, nodding. I smiled at him and felt the tears start to fall again, deep, nerve-wracking sobs as I gave into the grief.

"Oh baby," Dean said, pulling me a little closer. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," he whispered into my hair. Cole left the room quietly, giving us some space. There just didn't seem like enough space in the world that was going to help us get over this loss.

* * *

_**Dean's POV**_

**Bobby's House  
**_**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_**  
**

Bobby had Sam tied to a chair under the same devil's trap we'd use in the past, located in the library. He'd lit the open fire, it was providing a little light, and then there was the light from the windows. I looked at my brother, passed out before me and I brought my hand back, slapping him hard.

"Hey!" I said, waking him.

Sam looked up and saw the devil's trap painted on the ceiling.

"Dean, back from the dead." He smirked. "Getting to be a regular thing for you, isn't it? Like a cockroach," It was Sam's voice, but it wasn't Sam's words. "Tell me, how's Beth faring?" He raised an eyebrow and I reacted, punching him square in the jaw, drawing blood.

"How about I smack that smartass right out of your mouth?" I asked, looking over at Bobby.

"Oh, careful, now. Wouldn't want to bruise this fine packaging," the demon smirked at me.

"Oh don't worry, this isn't gonna hurt Sam much." I said as Bobby handed me a bucket of holy water. "You on the other hand..." I left the sentence unspoken, and poured the water over his head. The demon sizzled and screamed, still wearing Sam's meatsuit.

"Feel like talking now?" I asked him.

"Sam's still my meat puppet. I'll make him bite off his tongue." It threatened me from behind black eyes.

"No, you won't be in him long enough." I said, turning to the man next to me. "Bobby..."

Bobby started reading in Latin from an ancient book of his. "_Exorcisamus te, omnes in mundus spiritus_. _omnes satanica potestas, omnes incursio ..._" I spoke over the top of it as he worked.

"See, whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up? You're not getting Sam. You understand me? Because I'm gonna kill every one of you first." I threatened it, fury in my eyes. I was seething on the inside, wanting nothing more than to string it up and make it suffer for what it had taken from us.

The demon struggled painfully against its binds, finally it threw its head back and cackled loudly in a voice like we'd never heard from Sam before. Bobby stopped reading in surprise.

"You really think that's what this is about? The master plan? I don't give a rat's ass about the master plan." Sam said to me, and I frowned.

"_Humiliares sub potente magnu dei.._." Bobby read out and nothing happened.

"Oops. Doesn't seem to be working. See, I learned a few new tricks..." Sam dropped his head and began growling in Latin. "_Spiritus in mundus un glorum suarum umitite palatum iram domine ..._"

The fire behind Sam flared up and the room started to shake.

"This isn't going like I pictured! What's going on, Bobby?" I yelled, looking at the older man while things started flying off the walls around the room.

Sam laughed at me, Bobby shrugged and then his eyes widened as he looked behind me. I turned, and saw Cole standing in the doorway, fuming. I was at her in an instant.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her urgently. I glanced back at Sam, who was still muttering in Latin, a wind had picked up in the room, the fire still flaring. I pulled her into the kitchen, away from Sam. "Where's Beth?"

"You didn't pick up your cell," she said, "and the phones are down..." I reached for my cell. The battery was dead.

"You shouldn't be here." I said sternly, but she ignored me. Her eyes fell to Sam in the chair and they were murderous. She walked over and the demon smiled cruelly at her as it continued speaking Latin. Cole took one look at him and backhanded him across the face, then she hit him again for good measure, breathing hard.

"Oh you fucking bastard," she muttered angrily. She roughly shoved the sleeve back on Sam's shirt, looking at Bobby. "Dad, what is this?!" We were looking at a burn mark on Sam's arm. Bobby paled when he saw it.

"It's a binding link! It's like a lock. He's locked himself inside Sam's body!" Bobby said, looking panicked. The demon laughed and started its incantation again, I felt my stomach go hard as a rock, things were about to get ugly.

"What the hell do we do?" I asked Bobby.

"I don't know!" He cried back.

"You need to get out of here," I said to Cole, things just seemed all kinds of wrong all of a sudden.

Sam threw his head back and screamed, the walls shook and the ceiling cracked, breaking the devil's trap.

Sam's eyes were ringed in red as he lowered his head.

"There, that's better," Sam muttered, looking at us with an evil smile.

He jerked his head and all three of us were thrown against the Bobby and Cole looked like they had been knocked out.

Ripping free of his restraints now that the trap was broken, Sam stalked up to me.

"You know when people want to describe the worse possible thing? They say it's like Hell?" He said, coming to kneel in front of me. He grabbed me by the shirt and then punched me.

"You know there's a reason for that. Hell is like, um," he hit again, breathing hard. "Well, it's like hell. Even for demons." He screamed at me. I was starting to feel light headed and he punched me again. "It's a prison, made of bone and flesh and blood and fear;" once more he hit me, and no one could do anything about it. The demon grabbed my head, holding it steady before looking me in the eye. "And you sent me back there."

I frowned, thinking, and then it dawned on me. "Meg?"

The demon looked at me and smiled. "No, not any more. Now I'm Sam." She hit me again, the metallic taste of my own blood filled my mouth and I groaned as she dug her thumb into the bullet wound in my shoulder. Sharp, agonising pain shot through me as I gasped for a breath.

"By the way, I saw your Dad there – he says 'howdy'," She dug further, and spots appeared before my eyes, I grasped Sam's wrist, trying to pull the hand away but the pain was debilitating.

"All I had to hold onto was that I would climb out one day, and that I was going to torture the pair of you, nice and slow. Like pulling the wings off an insect..." He glanced over at Cole, who was still unconscious on the floor and I saw red, struggling to break free of the super-human strength holding me down.

Sam easily held me down, and I felt my head spin, I was losing it. "But … whatever I do to you, it's nothing compared to what you'll do to yourself, is it?" Sam's face was smiling down at me.

"I can see it in your eyes, Dean. You're worthless. You couldn't save your Dad," her eyes widened and she laughed, reading my mind. "You couldn't save your _baby_, and deep down you know you'll never be able to protect Beth, or save your brother. They'd all have been better off without you."

Sam's body reared back to hit me again, his fist in the air. Suddenly Bobby and Cole appeared out of nowhere, grabbing his arm, as Cole pressed a hot poker from the fire to the mark on Sam's forearm. He screamed in pain and I flinched at the sound of sizzling skin. Black smoke billowed out from Sam's mouth and blew out the chimney. She was gone, leaving us with Sam, who was scrabbling on the floor, looking around in confusion.

"Sammy?" I asked, looking at him, slumped against the desk.

Sam's eyes looked around frantically. "Did I miss anything?"

Something about what he said snapped inside of me and I didn't even realise I'd punched him until the pain in my knuckles started to sting. Sam grabbed his cheek in confusion and I looked around the room, slumping against the wall. Bobby helped Sam to his feet and took him into the kitchen so he could dress the burn wound.

* * *

Cole was fussing over me, checking out the bullet wound that she'd so methodically patched up earlier.

"I thought I told you to stay with Beth," I muttered at her with a grimace.

"Shut up Dean, you're not the oldest, I am – I can do what I want." She snapped back at me. She turned conflicted eyes to me.

"She's in the gym... with JJ." I growled at her when I heard it, and pushed her off me.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Cole sighed and let me go. I stumbled out the front door into the car yard, rounding the side of the house. _What the hell was Cole thinking, leaving her alone with the baby? When there was a god damn demon floating around!_

The gym was an old half-garage tucked away at the back of the property, we'd all used it for training as kids, Dad and Bobby teaching us how to fight, how to wield weapons. It was lit up with the rising sun now, the open side of the training area faced east, and beams of light were shining in to flood the open sparring area with golden light.

I needn't have worried. Beth was curled up on the old couch that was against the far wall, holding the baby in her arms, her head bowed over him. She was sobbing and I felt a little piece of my armour, the wall I had put up to hold it all together, chip away at the sight. She was clutching at that old rosary of her dad's, and I remembered the amulet and breathed easier. She was fine.

I crossed the room, falling to my knees in front of them both, staring at this little baby, only a month old. He was sleeping in Beth's arms, oblivious to the fact that she was having a meltdown.

"Hey," I said, reaching a pained arm out to brush my hand across her face.

"It's not fair..." she sobbed, turning red-ringed eyes toward me. I swallowed hard, fighting back my emotions. I had to be strong.

"I know baby, I'm sorry," I said for what seemed like the thousandth time in a twenty-four hour period. There just wasn't anything else I could think of that might help, I was useless, I couldn't even keep her safe during the most critical of times. Meg had been right, I was worthless.

I bit back a grimace and stood up, holding my arm at my side. Beth was looking at the sleeping infant in her arms again.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" She whispered, her sobs stopping for the moment.

I inched her forward a little so I could slide between her and the armrest, using my good arm to lift her back on to my lap. She leaned gratefully into me and I wrapped the same arm around them both, staring down at the boy.

"Yeah, he is... " I said quietly, swallowing hard.

"I'm sorry..." Beth whispered to me, leaning her forehead against mine.

"Sorry for what?" I asked confused.

"I wasn't strong enough, I couldn't protect us," she said, tears welling in her eyes again.

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't you do that. Don't you dare blame yourself." I said, touching her face, looking urgently into her eyes.

She chewed on her bottom lip and the tears started to fall again. I sighed, pulling her against me again.

"It'll be ok Beth," I said the words, but I didn't really feel them.

Cole rounded the corner looking for us and stopped short when she caught sight of the three of us on the couch. She approached cautiously until she saw me nod. Beth had her face buried in my neck, pouring heart-wrenching sobs into my shoulder.

The baby woke with a little yawn, gurgling at us and Beth froze, her cries fading to a whimper. She touched him gently on the face and for the first time in a day I saw just the hint of a smile. It was gone almost instantly, but it had been there, and it gave me hope. Hope that we could get past this.

She saw Cole standing over us, silently watching, and shifted to offer the baby back to her. Cole took him with a tentative smile.

The look Cole gave the baby was familiar and it tugged at my heart, I'd seen it before. "The baby's his, isn't it?" I asked her, it all falling into place. The name. The bastard comment from the demon. "Dad?"

Cole turned sad eyes to me and nodded. I took a deep breath and frowned. I sure didn't know how I felt about that, especially now we'd lost our own little boy. I felt a bit apprehensive because I had enough bloody trouble with one brother, let alone having to think about being around to protect another one. I shook the idea from my head and dismissed it, I couldn't think about that right now, I might never want to cross that damn bridge.

I settled for saying nothing. Beth had fallen quiet in my arms and I watched her cautiously.

* * *

_**Beth's POV**_

I didn't want to look at the baby any longer, it was too heart breaking. I buried my face into Dean's shoulder and prayed Cole would just leave us alone.

There was a sharp intake of breath and I looked up to see what Cole had gasped at. Sam was standing across the room, looking at us, his eyes full of conflict and anguish.

"Sammy..." I whispered, and he tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Dean tensed beneath me and I felt him hold his breath. He struggled to control his emotions, a whole range of thoughts flicking through his eyes.

I moved to get up, nothing but my little brother in my head now. He took a few tentative steps toward me, an agonising look on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said to me, and tears started to stream down his cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." I shook my head and ran to him, wrapping my arms around him. He fell to his knees in front of me, looking up and blinking through tears.

"It's not your fault Sammy," I said to him, biting my lip as I brushed his hair out of his eyes.

Big brown eyes, shaggy brown hair that needed a cut. All I could see in front of me was the little thirteen year old brother I'd loved all these years kneeling at my feet. I took my promise seriously, to protect him just as Dean did. My heart ached as I looked at him. He was blaming himself for what he'd done to me, yet deeper still was the overwhelming fear that we were losing him, that we'd failed him again.

"Forgive me," he said quietly, I shook my head, tears falling down my face now.

"There's nothing to forgive Sammy," I said, falling to my knees before him, searching his eyes.

Dean came up behind me, standing over us, and when I looked up at him there was a hesitation. He hadn't known how I'd react. All these years and I still managed to surprise him. There was nothing to it, it was Sam, little Sam who we had sworn to protect. More than anyone, I knew what it was to hold that burden, to take the life of someone you loved while being able to do nothing about it. More than anyone, I knew what Sam was going through, the emptiness you carried, the worthlessness.

"There's nothing to forgive Sam," I said again, looking at him solemnly. The anguish he was feeling would be with him forever, and I knew that. I pulled him to me, reaching up to hold Dean's hand. He watched us cautiously.

"I'm sorry Sammy," I said to him. "But you don't get rid of us that easy." I smiled a tentative smile at him when he looked surprised. Maybe we would get over it all, one day, maybe. But for now, we had to stick together, we had to stay strong. There was a war coming, if we didn't, we wouldn't make it. That much I knew was true.

Bobby came wandering into the gym, a troubled look on his face. He tossed an ice pack to Dean, who accepted it with a grateful smile, holding it over his swollen eye. I got back to my feet, pulling Sam up beside me. We all looked over at the only father we had left.

"What is it Dad?" Cole asked, seeing the look on her father's face.

"You guys ever hear of a hunter named Steve Wandell?" Bobby asked, looking at Dean and Sam in particular. We all stiffened at the name.

"Why do you ask?" Dean questioned, avoiding giving a direct answer.

"Just heard from a friend. Wandell's dead. Murdered in his own house. You wouldn't know anything about that?" Bobby said, crossing his arms.

"No, sir, never heard of the guy," Dean lied, and Sam startled.

"Dean..." Sam said, doing his usual _need to be honest_ number.

"Good." Bobby said in response to Dean's lie. "Keep it that way. Wandell's buddies are looking for someone or something to string up, and they're not going to slow down to listen to reason. You understand what I'm saying?"

We all exchanged knowing looks and nodded, nothing further was said.

"Well, we'd better hit the road," Dean said, "Get away from here for a bit." He looked over at Sam. "That's if you can remember where you parked the car." Dean's serious face smirked at Sam, who looked chagrined.

"Here, take these," Bobby said, handing over a couple of amulets to the boys. I glanced at them, and pulled my rosary out – they were the same as the pendant Dean had hung off my cross last year.

"What are they?" Sam asked, he'd never been privy to the conversation Dean and I had.

"Charms. They'll fend off possession," Bobby said, and he handed one to Cole too. "That demon's still out there; this'll stop it from getting back up in you."

Dean smirked, and it was good to see him smile. "That sounds vaguely dirty, but uh, thanks." Dean said, nodding.

"You're welcome. You kids be careful now," Bobby said, nodding at us.

"You too," I said quietly, and Bobby gave me a sad look. I braved a smile for him, plastering it across my face, even though it was the last thing on earth I felt like doing. I could cry later.

* * *

**Impala**

I was lying down on the back seat, using Dean's leather jacket as a pillow – I loved the smell, of the leather, and the faint scent of his deodorant, fresh like the air after a good rain fall. My eyes were closed, and yet I could still feel Sam's gaze on me as I lay there, pretending to be asleep.

"You ok?" Dean asked Sam, and there was no answer. "Sam? Is that you in there?" Dean asked jokingly, bringing everything back to humour. I had to stop from smiling because I was meant to be asleep, and I was feeling a little awkward with Sam's staring, but I smiled internally at his silly comments.

"I was awake for some of it Dean," Sam said quietly. "I watched myself kill Wandell with my own two hands; I watched myself attack Cole, and … I watched myself throw Beth across that room like she was nothing more than a ragdoll Dean."

Dean said nothing at first, and there was the steady hum of the road beneath us.

"That must have been awful," Dean said eventually.

Sam sighed. "That's not my point. Dean, I almost carved up Beth. Even then, you wouldn't shoot."

"It was the right move, Sam, it wasn't you," Dean said, and I agreed with him. No matter what the situation, it was at least one thing we would always agreed on.

"God why aren't you angry? I killed the baby Dean!" Sam said, distraught. "If you'd just shot me then Beth would be ok, and so would the baby."

"Yeah, well you said the same thing about Dad too – you could have shot him." Dean said back at him.

"Yeah, and I made a mistake! Look at what it's done to us Dean, to our family! I should have shot him when I had the chance, this yellow-eyed demon would be dead, and Beth would be ok, the baby... you would be ok."

"I'm fine Sam," Dean said levelly at him, but his voice was too steady for that to be true, he was covering up his real feelings big time.

"Yeah right," Sam muttered.

"And what about next time?" He asked after a pause.

"Sam, when Dad told us that we might have to kill you, it was only if we couldn't save you. Now, if it's the thing we do, we're going to save you."

There was a pause, and I heard Dean chuckle.

"What?" Sam asked him, confusion in his voice.

"Nothing," Dean said dismissively.

"Dean, what?!" Sam pushed.

I peeked through one eye to see Dean shift a little to glance back at me. I closed my eyes and continued to pretend I was asleep.

He snickered after a moment, something obviously making him laugh.

"Dude," Dean said finally. "You... you like full-on had a girl inside you for like a whole week." He laughed quietly, probably trying not to wake me. "That's pretty naughty."

There was pause and I opened my eyes long enough to see Sam's frown crumble at the comment, and then they both laughed. I smiled briefly, forgetting the last few days, I could almost pretend they hadn't happened when I was in the back of the car like this, on the road to nowhere. Almost, but not quite. I closed my eyes for real this time and let sleep come, tomorrow was another day and we'd get through it just like we did any other day.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Dedicated to my beautiful little niece Ella Faith, born sleeping June 2012. And to my niece (2011) and nephew (2013), also lost but unnamed. RIP.

* * *

Big thanks to EarthhAngel for all her help proofreading, beta reading, and just being a sounding board for ideas :) You're the best! xoxo

* * *

The song for this chapter is: _I want you here _by Plumb

* * *

Please don't hate me! I have been agonising over this chapter for weeks now – I didn't want it to go down like this, but it's just the way the story is leaning to. Sometimes the stories write themselves, I don't always plan them to come out the way they do. This whole pregnancy storyline is one of those things. I promise, they do get a baby later on! It's just not their time right now :(

* * *

Next up, I'm going to try my hand at _Tall Tales _but I have no idea how it's going to go down yet!

* * *

Don't forget, if you're confused as to who Cole is, check out EarthhAngel's story _How to save a life , _also here on Fan Fiction. We're hoping to have a new update for it very soon.

* * *

P.S. Pretty please don't hate me! I'll make it up to you, I swear!

* * *

P.P.S. Thank you to everyone who left reviews or PM'ed me over the last chapter - I apologise I haven't had a chance to respond to everyone individually at the moment, but I will get around to it at some point! I always welcome your thoughts and contributions :) Mahalo :)


	16. Tall Tales

_All day staring at the ceiling__  
__Making friends with shadows on my wall__  
__All night hearing voices telling me__  
__That I should get some sleep__  
__Because tomorrow might be good for something_

_Hold on__  
__Feeling like I'm headed for a breakdown__  
__And I don't know why_

_But I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell__  
__I know right now you can't tell__  
__But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see__  
__A different side of me__  
__I'm not crazy, I'm just a little impaired__  
__I know right now you don't care__  
__But soon enough you're gonna think of me__  
__And how I used to be...me_

* * *

**TALL TALES**

* * *

_**Springfield, Ohio  
Present Day**_

It had been a really, really long week. I was sprawled out face first on Dean's and my bed watching some ridiculous soap opera in Spanish – somehow it helped to drone out the incessant whining that Dean and Sam had been doing for the last few hours. If it was in Spanish I didn't have to pretend to try and understand it, and the constant chatter inside my head could just go on like the white noise that it was.

"Beth, Beth you want any of these?" Dean asked, munching loudly away on chilli cheese fries from Sam's bed.

"Noooooo." I moaned from my comatose position, not even moving my mouth to answer.

"You sure? They're really good!" Dean said shovelling some more into his mouth as he flipped through a copy of _Weekly World News_.

"I'm sure... thank you." I said. Dean shrugged and continued munching away.

Sam looked up from his position on the couch where he was currently doing research, flipping through a multitude of books.

"Dude," he said in an annoyed tone. "You mind not eating those on my bed?"

Dean smirked. "No. I don't mind," he said, and shovelled anothing couple of fries in to his mouth. "How's the research going?"

"You know how it's going? _Slow! _You know how it would go a heck of a lot faster? _If I had my computer!" _Sam retorted, harping on for the tenth time in the last hour about how Dean had supposedly stolen his computer.

Dean nodded at him sarcastically. "Mhmmmm," he agreed. Research did tend to go a lot faster with a computer, that was true.

Sam frowned over at me, rolling his eyes at the television. "Can you turn that down please?" He asked. I sat up and looked at him, he'd been nothing but a major pain in my ass for the last week and it was starting to get downright annoying.

"Yeah, sure thing Sammy." I said, taking the remote and turning the volume up higher. I got up and went to plant myself on his bed next to Dean, grabbing a chilli cheese fry and putting it in my mouth. Dean nodded approvingly at me, Sam just watched us, mouth open and frustrated.

"You know what? Maybe, uh, maybe you guys should just go somewhere for a while." Sam said. Dean reached over and grabbed the remote, turning the television off.

"Hey, we'd love to. That's a great idea. Unfortunately, _may car's all screwed to Hell!" _Dean snapped at him, fire burning in his eyes.

Sam glared at his brother. "Dean, I told you, I had nothing to do with..."

He was interrupted by a loud knocking at the door. I bounced off the bed, crossing to the door and peeked out the peephole. I sighed with relief when I saw who it was, and opened up the door to reveal Bobby.

"Bobby, thank _God _you're here," I muttered, waving him into the room.

"Hey Beth, it's good to see you again so soon," Bobby said, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. He watched as Dean and Sam both got to their feet.

"Thanks for coming Bobby," Sam said. Dean reached forward and shook Bobby's hand vigorously.

"Good to see you man," he said with a smile.

Bobby looked a little uncomfortable at the attention we were giving him. "So um, what didn't you want to talk to me on the phone about?"

"It's this job we're working. We weren't sure you'd believe us." Sam said to him, taking a seat at the table.

"Well, I can believe a lot," Bobby said.

"Yeah, yeah it's just... we've never seen anything like it," I said to Bobby, going to get him a beer out of the fridge. Dean looked at me longingly and I rolled my eyes, grabbing him one too, earning me a smile.

He cracked the beer open when I handed it to him and looked at Bobby. "Not even close..." he said, agreeing with Sam for the first time all week.

"And we thought we could use some fresh eyes," Sam finished.

Bobby nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "Well, why don't you begin at the beginning." He took a seat on Sam's bed, grimacing at the empty box of fries. Dean and I settled on the other bed.

"So, it all started when we caught wind of an obit. See, a professor took a nosedive from a fourth story window, only there's a campus legend that the building's haunted. So we pretexted as reporters from the local paper." Sam said, starting the story.

* * *

_**Local Bar  
**__**1 week ago**__**  
**_

**Sam's POV**

I was sitting at the table opposite who appeared to be one of the campus jocks, and an attractive, yet dipsy looking girl with brown hair. I put the recorder down on the table, and peered across at them.

"Yeah, we both had the professor for Ethics and Morality," said the guy, Curtis, taking a big mouthful of beer and swallowing it with a grin.

"Yeah?" I asked, "so why do you think he did it?"

"Who knows?" The girl, Jen, said. "I mean, he was tenured, wife and kids. His book is like a _really big deal. _Then again..." she leaned across the table conspiratorially at me, raising an eyebrow. "Who's to say it was suicide?"

Curtis scoffed looking over at her. "Jen, come on..."

I feigned surprise at the comment and looked between them both. "Well what else could it be?" I asked.

"Well, you know about Crawford Hall?" She asked, curious.

"No, I don't, actually," I said to her, shaking my head and leaning toward her.

"It's a bunch of crap, it's a total urban legend," said Curtis, looking sceptically at her.

"Yeah, well, Heather's mom went to school here, and she knew the girl?" Jen said, turning her gaze to Curtis.

"Wait, what girl?" I asked, surprised.

"Thirty years ago, this girl was having an affair with some professor. He broke it off, she jumped out the window and killed herself." Jen said, completely serious.

"You know her name?" I asked, leaning in to her. She smelled like strawberries. I shook my head and sat back a little, I had to focus on the job.

"No," the girl said with a smile. "But they say she jumped from room six-six-nine." She looked at me expectantly. "Get it? You turn the nine upside down...?" I looked at her and nodded, as if I was totally buying into her story. Curtis laughed at her, rolling his eyes.

Jen threw him a frustrated look, and leaned even closer to me. "So now, she haunts the building. And anyone who sees her? They don't live to tell the tale," she said.

"Well if no one lives to tell the tale, then how does the tale get told?" Curtis laughed, shaking his head.

"Curtis! Shut up!" Jen snapped at him, and then she hit me with a flirtatious smile. My eyes locked on to the scene playing out a few yards away, and I sighed internally. I sat back from Jen, and she looked sad at my withdrawal, but I had to be professional, I was working a case. _Unlike some people, _I thought, as raucous laughter went up from over at the bar.

"You know what? Uh, thanks a lot guys. Excuse me." I got up, heading toward my two hedonistic siblings.

The bartender was filling six shot glasses with some dark bluish-purple liquid. Dean was sitting on a stool with Beth perched on his lap, holding on to him as she giggled away. I watched with narrow eyes as they looked at each other with stupid grins, and then nodded. Within seconds they had slammed down three shots each in quick succession.

"Guys! Guys, what are you drinking?" I asked.

Dean burped and turned to look at me. "I don't know, man, I think they're called purple nurples?" He said, looking questioningly at Beth who nodded vigorously.

"What's up Sammy?" Beth asked, her arm wound tightly around Dean's neck as she balanced precariously, trying to turn and look at me.

"Uh, nothing." I paused and looked at them, feeling sad. It was clear as day that they were completely and utterly lost in their grieving and fuelling it with alcohol to drown out the sorrow. I sighed. They needed help. "Look, I think maybe we should go check out the professor's office."

Beth had started kissing her way along Dean's neck, her hand found its way under his shirt, stroking at his abs and then sliding up to pinch his nipple.

I looked at them incredulously, what the hell was wrong with them?

"Oh, no, no, no – we can't right now, we've got some... you know, things to catch up on." Dean said, moaning loudly as Beth continued to nip away at his neck and play with his nipple. "But hey..." Dean said breathlessly. "We've been talking to this feisty little wildcat, and we were about to – zzzzzp – reel her in for you. Here, I'll introduce you..." Dean leaned around Beth, who was still giggling away and working on giving him what looked to be the biggest hickey in the northern hemisphere.

"Starla!" Dean called out, and a buxom blonde in a mini-skirt and fishnet stockings turned around, knocking back one of the purple nurples like Dean and Beth had just been drinking. She leaned on the bar and cast an appraising eye over at Dean.

"Starla, hey. This is my shuttle co-pilot Major Tom. Major Tom, Starla." Dean said to introduce us. Starla draped an arm around Dean and Beth, leaning into Beth's back and held up her empty shot glass with an attempt at a seductive smile.

"Oooh... enchante," she said lasciviously.

"She's cute," Beth said, looking up from Dean's neck. "And she has a sister if you want to have some real fun." I stared at Beth and rolled my eyes. _What the hell?_

Starla started to gag, covering her mouth, then after a moment she got herself under control, looking up at us all grinning.

"Sorry. Just trying to keep my liquor down!" She said and Beth patted her on the back.

"Yeah, good job darlin'." She said encouragingly.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

I stared at Sam, and Dean was holding out his hand, shaking his head. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute!"

"What?" Sam asked, looking at us.

"Come on dude, that's not how it happened," Dean said and I shook my head in agreement with Dean.

"No? So you guys never drank a purple nurple?" Sam countered.

Dean and I grimaced, looking at each other.

"Yeah, well maybe that," I concurred, thinking about the splitting headache Dean and I had both had the next day.

"But do you see a hickey on Dean's neck?" I said, pulling at Dean's collar to reveal unmarked skin. "I don't do hickeys!" I added with a frown, _where the hell had he gotten that from?_

"Yeah, and I don't say things like _feisty little wildcat_, and her name wasn't Starla," Dean added.

"Then what was it?" Sam challenged.

Dean frowned, and looked at me. I shrugged, I didn't remember either. "I don't know," I said, tilting my head to the side.

"But she was a classy chick," Dean said and I nodded in agreement.

"She was a grad student, anthropology and folklore. _Totally _up Sam's alley, which is why we were talking to her. Trying to get her to check him out." I looked at Sam. "He could use a little loosening up once in a while."

Dean started to tell his side of the story.

* * *

_**Local Bar  
1 week ago**_

**Dean's POV**

Beth was wearing this sexy little black halter dress, one of my favourites, coupled with black stockings and black heels, her shiny dark brown hair fell in waves around her shoulders. There was no comparison to any other girl in the bar, although this folklore student was looking pretty fine for Sammy, if he'd ever pull that stick out of his ass and come meet her. I looked Beth over again and smiled, _how did I get so lucky?_

The bartender had introduced us to the purple nurple cocktails and so we were trying them out. I held my shotglass and Beth chinked hers against it.

She smiled at me and I couldn't help but smile back. "Here's to..." she said.

"Here's to us," I finished, tipping my drink back and letting it wash down my throat. Beth did the same, licking a couple of spare drops from her lips.

"God you're gorgeous," she said to me with a smile, leaning in and wrapping her arms around me, trailing soft kisses along my neck.

I grinned, sliding my hands along her waist. "Mmhmm, you're not so bad yourself." I kissed her lightly on the neck just below her earlobe. "But! No time for that now. We need to talk to this girl about the urban legend. Lives are at stake," I said, stepping back, and Beth threw her head back, nodding.

"Yes, you're right, the job must come first... it's just...I just... can't even concentrate." Her eyes stared adoringly at me. "It's like staring... into the sun." She reached up and pulled my head in for a kiss, brushing soft lips along mine and I moaned, leaning into it, drinking of her slowly.

Sam's voice sounded shrilly from behind me, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his tone of voice, while I continued to make out with Beth. I slipped my hands down around her hips to her lower back, pulling her in close.

"Guys!" Sam's prissy voice said, "What do you think you're doing?" He said all persnickety.

I turned back to him and smiled. "Sam, please. If you wouldn't mind, give us five minutes here..."

"Dean! This is a very serious investigation. We don't have time for you two to start your usual blah blah blah blah," I moved back to kiss Beth with a smile.

"Blah blah blah blah. Blah blah blah. Blah!" Sam's voice droned on in the background.

I kissed her like it was our last night on earth, it had been so long since we had a chance to just enjoy ourselves, and we needed it now more than ever. After a month, she was starting to come out of the dark place she'd been in. It was good to see her enjoying herself, smiling for a change.

Sam continued blahdiblahing behind us, and I groaned when Beth slipped up to me sliding her knee between my legs, pressing against my groin.

"Blaaah!" Sam said protestingly.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

"Dean!" Sam said protestingly, interrupting Dean's version of events.

"What?" Dean asked, confused.

"Right, and that's how it really happened?" Sam said sarcastically to us both. Dean shrugged, turning a wicked grin toward me.

"I don't sound like that Dean!" Sam said in a whiny voice.

"You sound like that to me," Dean said with a smirk.

Bobby was staring at us all. "OK. What's going on with the three of you?"

"Nothing." Sam said. "Noth... it's nothing." He shrugged and tried to dismiss the obvious tension that was going on between us all. I chewed on my lip, thinking about that night and how it had been nice to just get out with Dean for a change. Nice when we didn't have Sam hovering over us like a mother hen, anyway.

"No, come on. You're bickering like the three Stooges," Bobby said. Dean stood up and crossed to the kitchenette.

"No, see, the three Stooges got a break from each other occasionally! We're more like... uh... Siamese twins."

"Triplets!" I added, flopping back on the bed.

"Triplets, right," Dean said with a nod.

"It's _conjoined twins!" _Sam said in his usual _I know more than you _tone.

"Triplets!" I called out, throwing my arms in the air. _Why was I being ignored?_

"See what I mean?" Dean asked, glancing back at Sam.

Sam sighed. "Look, it... it's been a hard month, we've just been on the road for too long. Tight quarters, all that. Don't worry about it."

"Ok..." Bobby said, not sounding convinced.

"So, anyway," I said. "We figured it might be a haunting, so we went to check out the scene of the crime."

"Right," Sam said, taking over the story again.

* * *

_**Crawford Hall  
Springfield University  
**__**6 days ago**__**  
**_

**Sam's POV**

I'd made Dean and Beth dress up in the electrician's outfits, the same as I had on. I don't know why it was that no one ever questioned the need to have three people on a simple electrical job, but we always managed to pull it off, tonight was no different.

We were talking to the janitor who had been kind enough to let us in.

"So, how long have you been working here?" I asked him as we walked up the stairs.

"I've been mopping this floor for six years." He answered and opened the door to the room where the professor had taken a nosedive from. "There you go, guys."

I pulled out an EMF reader and the janitor looked at it curiously. "What the heck's that for?"

"Just to find a wire in the walls," I murmured at him, taking a look around.

"Huh. Wow. Not sure why you're wiring up this office. Not gonna do the professor much good," he said to us, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

"Why's that?" Dean asked, feigning ignorance.

"He's dead," the janitor said bluntly. We all pretended to look surprised.

"Oh. What happened?" Beth asked curiously.

"He went out that window. Right there." The janitor pointed to a large two-paned window overlooking the courtyard below.

"Yeah? Were you working that night?" I asked.

"I'm the one who found him," he said, nodding.

"You see it happen?" I asked him.

Dean had found a bowl of nuts on the side table and as usual, was helping himself. He'd shoved so many nuts into his mouth his cheeks were filled out like a hamster. It was ridiculous – how I managed to work alongside this guy day in and day out without killing him was beyond me.

"No, I just saw him come up here... and well..." he looked down at his feet with a bit of a smile.

"What?" I asked.

"Well... he wasn't alone..." the janitor said with a wink. I gave him an appropriately timed _Oooooh _look and nodded appreciatively. Beth rolled her eyes.

"Who was he with?" Dean asked around a mouthful of nuts.

"He was with a young lady. I told the cops about her, but uh, I guess they never found her," said the janitor.

"You saw this girl go in, huh? Did you ever see her come out?" I asked, curious.

"Now that you mention it, no." The janitor said thoughtfully.

"Have you ever seen her around here before?" Beth asked, standing over by the window looking down on the courtyard.

"Well, not her," the janitor said with a conspiratorial grin to Dean and I.

Beth looked up with a frown on her face, coming to stand by Dean who was still shovelling peanuts into his mouth. "What do you mean?"

The janitor tried to make himself look like he was a nice guy, and not a sleaze, but he failed. "Look, I don't mean to cast aspersions on a dead guy, but uh… Mr Morality? He brought a lot of girls up here. Got more ass than a toilet seat."

Dean laughed delightedly, bits of peanuts going everywhere. Beth frowned and hit him upside the head, hard. "Ow!" Dean said, glaring at her. She stormed off toward the window again.

The janitor grinned at Dean. "Those work relationships can be a bitch eh?"

Dean nodded, watching Beth carefully, "You have no idea man."

I cleared my throat, bringing things back to task. "One more thing. This building, it only has four stories right?" I asked.

"Yeah," the janitor confirmed.

"So there wouldn't be a room six-six-nine?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Of course not. Why do you ask?" The janitor said with a confused look.

"Ah, just curious. Thanks." I asked dismissively.

* * *

**Sam's POV**

Beth was a bit sullen on the way back to the motel room, come to think of it she'd been like it all day. I put it down to her being hungover from the night before, after all, you don't just slam down that many purple nurples after how many months of being abstinent from alcohol and expect to slip back into the same old routine you used to have, do you? I decided I'd have to have a discussion with her later about getting some help, for both her and Dean. They really needed it – drowning their sorrows in alcohol was not going to fix anything!

"Well, no traces of EMF, that's for sure," I said as we got into the room. Beth went straight to the bathroom and shut the door. Dean shrugged and went to the fridge, getting a beer out for both of us.

"And the room six-six-nine is a load of crap," Dean said.

"So what do you think? The professor's just a jumper? A legend's just a legend?" I asked, would make for a strange change with us.

"I don't know. I mean, the uh, girl the janitor described, that's pretty weird." Dean said with a frown.

"Yeah." I agreed.

"We ought to check out the history of the building. See if any co-ed ganked herself there." Dean suggested.

"Yeah, you're right." I looked up as Beth came out of the bathroom, she looked a little pale, it concerned me. I smiled at her, and opened my laptop. The screen was frozen and I hit a few buttons to try and get it to refresh or something. Nothing.

"Are you kidding me?" Beth muttered, looking at the screen.

I looked at Dean, a frown on my face. "Dean. Were you on my computer?"

"No…" Dean said, looking too innocent for it to be real.

"Oh really?" I asked. "Because it's frozen now. On uh, bustyasianbeauties . com," Beth's eyes narrowed at Dean and he winced, retreating toward the bathroom.

"Seriously?" Beth asked, and he looked confused.

"Dean! Would you – just – look don't touch my stuff anymore, ok?" I said angrily. Silently wondering whether he'd royally screwed up my computer.

"Why don't you control your OCD?" Dean said to me. _What? What did my OCD have to do with this? I don't have OCD!_

Beth shook her head and stormed off, grabbing her jacket.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, where are you going?" Dean asked, following her. "Beth?"

"What does it matter Dean? You don't seem to need me around here cramping your style," she said, reaching for the door.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He asked, grabbing her arm, pulling her back into the room. She struggled against him, yanking her arm free.

"Whatever you want it to mean!" Her eyes were pissed, and I flinched at the anger behind her words.

"You seriously think I was on that website?" Dean asked, looking a little hurt.

"Well it's not something _Sam _would go on is it?" She asked, rolling her eyes.

They both turned to look at me, I pretended to be engrossed in the computer, maybe they'd finally start talking.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Dean asked gently, gripping her elbows in his hands as Beth crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Nothing." Beth said quietly.

"Pull the other one sister, I know you better than that." Dean said, reaching out to touch her face softly.

Beth sighed, and turned troubled eyes to Dean. "I just need some time," she said softly, chewing on her lip.

"Time for what?" Dean asked, dumb as usual.

"For, you know… before … it's just – I know, it's been a while." I raised an eyebrow, still pretending to ignore them. It sure hadn't seemed like they were having any issues in the bedroom the other night.

"What? You think I'm worried? Beth, geez…" Dean said, pulling her into his arms. "You're ready when you're ready…"

* * *

_**Present Day  
Motel Room**_

**Beth's POV**

Bobby frowned and interrupted Sam's story.

"Uh, that's enough of that Sam. You think you could have a little damn consideration and not listen in on a private conversation like that, what are you twelve?" He chided the young man in front of him.

I was gaping, not aware that he'd been listening in on that very, _very private _conversation. I mean, that wasn't even the half of what we'd talked about. He'd been completely engrossed on the other side of the large room, and we'd talked quietly, sitting on the couch. I shuddered, I mean Sam was our little brother and he knew us better than anyone, but some things just weren't meant to be shared with him.

Dean was looking mortified and chugged the rest of his beer. Heart-to-hearts didn't really do much for his image, and he looked embarrassed that any of that had gotten out to Bobby.

"Did you dig up anything about the building? Or the suicidal co-ed?" Bobby asked, changing the subject.

"No. History's clean." Sam said, looking suitably chastised.

"Then it's not a haunting," Bobby said, getting up to pace across the floor.

"Maybe not. Tell you the truth, we're not really sure." Dean said and I nodded.

"What do you mean, you're not sure?" Bobby asked, looking confused at us.

"Well it's weird." I said joining in all the pacing. All of us were on our feet now. I wrung my hands, thinking about the whole week's events and just struggling with them in general.

"What's weird?" Bobby asked.

"This next part, we uh, we didn't see it happen ourselves exactly, but it's pretty damn weird, even for us." I said, and started to tell the story about how Curtis, the jock from the night we'd been at the bar had been walking alone through the campus.

"He heard a noise and turned around, but there was nothing there. Then he heard another noise and looked straight up this time. Suddenly a bright light shone down on him and chased him as he ran through the campus. Then he was _sucked up _by a tractor beam!"

Bobby looked at me sceptically when I finished talking. "Aliens?"

"Yeah," Dean said nodding.

"_Aliens?" _He asked again, looking incredulous now.

"_Yeah!" _I said, nodding vigorously.

"Look, even if they are real, they're sure as Hell not coming to earth and swiping people." Bobby said with a frown.

"Hey, believe me. We know." Sam snorted with a laugh. Dean and I exchanged a look. Top of _our things to do before we die_ list was going to Roswell to see if there was any truth to the alien rumours. Unlike Sam, we hadn't actually ruled one way or another on the idea yet.

"My whole life I've never found evidence of an honest-to-God abduction. It's all just cranks and pranks," Bobby said.

"Yeah, that's what we thought," Sam said, lumping the three of us all in the same basket.

"But we figured we'd at least talk to the guy," I said with a shrug. Actually it had been my idea – I was dying to know if aliens really existed.

* * *

_**Local Bar  
**__**4 days ago**__**  
**_

_**Beth's POV**_

Dean was seated next to Curtis, I was sitting on the other side of the table with Sam, who had been ghosting me for the last day or so wanting to talk about my feelings. It was seriously starting to cheese me off, this Dr. Phil routine.

Curtis had three full shot glasses lined up in front of him, I fought back the urge to retch, remembering our over indulgence of the Purple Nurples a few nights ago. Curtis downed a shot and Dean grinned at me before looking back at Curtis.

"Hey, you ought to give those purple nurples a shot," he said with a chuckle.

"So what happened Curtis?" Sam led the questioning because he'd already met the guy once.

"You won't believe me. Nobody does," Curtis said sullenly.

"Give us a chance," I said to him, leaning forward.

"I do not want this in the papers," Curtis said, looking suspicious and shaking a finger at Sam.

"Off the record then," Dean offered and Curtis nodded.

"I, uh… I blacked out, and… I lost time, and when I woke up I don't know where I was." He shuddered. "I was on a medical table, bright light shining in my eyes. A blurry alien face, like in the movies? It looked down at me!"

Sam sat forward a little straighter. "Then what?"

"Uh, they did tests on me, and, uh… they uh…" Curtis took another shot and drank it down. "…they probed me." He was slumped over his drinks at the table, huddled into himself, looking disturbed.

Sam tried not to laugh, I was gaping at him. Dean looked a little horrified.

"They _probed _you?" He asked.

"Yeah, they probed me. Again and again and again." He took another shot, slamming the empty glass down on the table. "And again, and again, and again…and then one more time." His voice dropped off and he looked ashamed.

"Yikes!" Dean said, grimacing at me.

"And that's not even the worst of it," Curtis said, looking up at us.

"It can get worse?" I asked, surprised.

"How could it get any worse?" Dean asked smirking. "Some alien made you his bitch."

Curtis glared at him and Dean stopped smirking.

"They…they made me… slow dance!" He looked completely horrified at the idea and described a glittering disco ball, under which the alien had its arms wrapped around his waist, slow dancing to the melodious tunes of Chris de Burgh's _Lady in Red. _

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

_**Beth's POV**_

"You guys are exaggerating again, right?" Bobby asked, looking at us sceptically.

"No!" Sam and Dean said in unison, looking up at Bobby earnestly.

Bobby smirked. "Then this frat boy's just nuts!"

"We're not so sure..." Dean said, and resumed telling the story.

* * *

_**University Campus  
**__**3 days ago**__**  
**_

_**Dean's POV**_

So we were standing in the middle of one of the campus common areas, right where Curtis said he'd been abducted. And there, right on the ground, burned into the grass was a big ass freaking scorch mark in a perfect circle.

"I'm telling you Dean, this was made by some kind of jet engine," Sammy said to me, looking stunned.

"You mean some saucer-shaped jet engine?" I asked, looking furtively around.

"What else could it be?" Beth asked from beside me. We were doing a little better since the other night, but not perfect. We were a long way from being perfect, but I knew we'd get there. I really wanted to just pull her into my arms and take her away from here for a bit, but the situation was just too weird to leave to Sammy on his own. I settled for slipping my arm around her waist and holding her next to me.

"What the Hell?" I asked shaking my head in confusion.

"I don't know," Sam said quietly.

"Seriously dude – what the hell?!" I said again, feeling myself getting annoyed.

"I don't know!" Sam repeated, annoyed as well. "I mean, first the haunting, now this? The timing alone – there's got to be some kind of connection."

"You mean between the angry spirit and the sexed-up E.T?" Beth asked with a grin. "What could the connection possibly be?"

There was only one thing we could do – keep on digging. We hung around the campus a bit, talking to anyone who wanted to talk.

"So you and this guy Curtis – you were in the same house?" Sam asked the young fella in front of us.

"Yeah," he said nodding.

"You heard what happened to him right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he says it was aliens, but, you know, whatever." The guy gave us a bit of a disbelieving look.

Sam was giving him a great big puppy dog look, doing his Dr Phil thing. "Look, man, I – I know this all has to be so hard," Sam said to him, fighting back empathic tears.

"Um, not so much," the guy said, looking a little confused.

"But I want you to know... I'm here for you. You brave little soldier. I acknowledge your pain." Sam fought back tears and then held out his arms. "Come here," he said, engulfing the guy in a big bear hug. "You're too precious for this world."

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

"I never said that!" Sam exclaimed, frowning at Dean.

"You're _always _saying pansy stuff like that." Dean retorted, rolling his eyes.

Bobby was staring at the boys, open mouthed and speechless as they continued the back and forth banter that had been my entire existence for the last week.

"This crap has been going on all week Bobby!" I groaned, running my hands over my face.

"The kid that Sam was all _"I love you man" _with, he told us that Curtis was a total dick and had it coming. Pledge master, put the new recruits through hell. Kind of a fitting punishment for his crimes really." I said ignoring Dean and Sam who were still arguing.

"Then we get back to the motel and these two..." I gestured to Dean and Sam who were now standing up, facing off over some other comment that just seemed to be getting out of hand. "...well let me just say, it's not been good!"

I continued with the story.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**3 days ago**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

"Still doesn't make a lick of sense. But hey, at least there's one connection," Dean said, plopping into the armchair in the room with a sigh; Sam and I paused in the motel room to look at him, curious.

"Between what?" Sam asked.

"The victims," Dean said. "The professor and the frat guy – they're both dicks."

"That's a connection?" Sam asked sarcastically.

"You got anything better to go on, I'd love to hear it," Dean challenged, looking at him with steely eyes.

Sam was looking in his bag, looking perplexed.

"Where's my laptop?" He asked, looking up at Dean.

"I don't know," Dean said with a shrug. Sam continued to look around the room, getting more and more frustrated.

"Think about it," Dean continued, walking over to me. "A philandering professor gets a dead girl. A pledge master gets hazed." I nodded, he did kind of have a point, I just didn't know what kind of a monster would get its kicks from doing that.

"I left it in here," Sam said absently, not really listening to the conversation, hell bent on finding his laptop.

"You obviously didn't," Dean said, frowning at Sam.

"These punishments – they're almost poetic," I said thoughtfully, sitting on the edge of the ottoman that Dean had his feet up on. "Actually, it'd be more like a limerick, but still ..."

"OK, hilarious! Ha ha. Where'd you hide it?" Sam asked, approaching us. We both started at him, confused.

"What, your computer?" Dean asked looking puzzled.

"Yeah, where'd you hide it?" Sam accused.

"Why would I take your computer?" Dean asked, shrugging.

"Because no one else would, Beth doesn't mess with my things. We keep the door locked. We never let any maids in..." Sam said, throwing his arms in the air in annoyance.

"Looks like you lost it, Poindexter," Dean said with an infuriatingly smug grin, not really helping the situation.

"Dude, you know something? I put up with a lot from you..." Sam started, and Dean scoffed.

"What are you talking about? I'm a joy to be around," he replied. I rolled my eyes and plopped down on to the couch. Neither of these guys were much fun to be around right now.

"Yeah?" Sam said, amused. "Your dirty socks in the sink, your food in the fridge."

"What's wrong with my food?" Dean asked.

"It's not _food _anymore Dean! It's Darwinism! All I ask from you, the one thing, is that you don't mess with my stuff!" Sam was fuming, his chest rising and falling quickly as his breath shortened, he was pacing around waving his arms in the air.

"You done?" Dean asked, his face turning impassive.

"You know, how would you feel if I screwed with the Impala?" Sam countered, and I stopped breathing.

"Geez Sammy, it'd be the last thing you ever did," I muttered and he looked at me, frowning.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

"Did you take his computer?" Bobby asked Dean. We were all seated around the kitchen table. Dean was working his way through a beer, Sam just looked fed-up.

"Serves him right, but, no." Dean said. Bobby looked questioningly at me and I shook my head. I didn't know where the damn thing was.

"Well I didn't lose it. 'Cause I don't lose things," Sam said with angry eyes.

"Oh that's right, 'cause he's Mr Perfect," Dean said, rolling his eyes.

"OK, OK. Why don't you just tell me what happened next?" Bobby said, interrupting and looking at me.

I sighed, and leaned my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands. "There was one more victim." I started, looking up at Bobby. "Now, we didn't see this one ourselves, either. We kind of put it together from the evidence. But this guy – he was a research scientist. Animal testing."

"Yeah, you know – a dick, which fits pattern," Dean supplied, looking at Bobby who nodded.

"Cops didn't release the cause of death, because they had no idea what the cause was." I said, "So we checked it out ourselves."

* * *

_**Morgue  
**__**Earlier Today**__**  
**_

**Dean's POV**

Sam had a small knife at the window and was working the window latch, wasn't long before we had access to the room and Sam crawled through the window.

"Hey," I said, tossing him my flashlight. I helped Beth shimmy down into the room and then climbed through myself. Getting my light back off Sam, I opened the body drawer closest and shone my light in.

What I saw was pretty damn gross, even by our standards. "Well, this ought to be quick," I said, looking up at the others. Beth helped me pull the draw out and I watched as she went a bit pale.

"You ok?" I asked and she nodded unconvincingly.

She reached out and pulled back the blood-soaked sheet that was covering the remains.

"OK. That is just nasty," she breathed, swallowing hard. I watched her as she pulled herself together, shoving down all the crap that came to the surface whenever you saw something like this. I smiled, always surprised by something she did every day, even if it was as simple as kissing me when I didn't deserve it.

"Uh, yeah," Sam agreed with her and I nodded.

"Mutilated?" I asked.

"Looks to me like something was hungry," Beth said with a frown, picking through the remains with gloved hands.

"They identify him yet?" I asked no one in particular.

"Yeah. A research scientist at the college." Sam said. "Guess where his office was, by the way. Crawford Hall, same as the professor.

"That's right where the frat boy had his close encounter," I pointed out, curious.

"Yeah," Beth said, frowning as she used her sense of touch to guide her. I knew first hand how amazing that touch was, didn't look so great in the middle of mangled remains though. "Hey, grab me that thing, would you?" She asked, nodding at the lighted magnifying light. I slid it over to her, turning it on, and she peered through at the body.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to see what she was.

"Looks like... a... belly scale?" She said, puzzled.

"A belly scale, from what?" Sam asked, coming to stand by the table.

"Uhhhh," Beth examined the scale a little longer, "an alligator?"

"An alligator in the sewer," I scoffed at her. "Come on."

"Well, Dean, it's a classic urban legend. Kid flushes a baby gator down the toilet, and it grows huge in the tunnels." Sam said.

"But no one's ever really found one. They're not real," I said with a sigh.

"Neither's alien abduction, but something chomped on this guy," Sam said, frustratingly correct.

"This couldn't get any weirder," Beth said with a grown. I slid my arm around her with a kiss to her temples.

"Maybe we should get some help. I'll call Bobby. Maybe he's run into something like this before," Sam said.

"Oh, I'm sure he has. Just your typical haunted campus, alien abduction, alligator-in-the-sewer gig. Yeah, it's simple." I said sarcastically at Sam.

Sam rolled his eyes at me, throwing his hands up in the air. We decided to search the sewer even though I wasn't convinced we'd find a giant gator down there.

* * *

**Dean's POV**

We made our way back to the manhole which exited into the alley where we'd left the Impala. Beth was splashing alongside me, bitching about her favourite boots being all soaked. I chuckled, and she stopped.

"What?" She said, looking at me.

"You, you're funny." I said to her, stopping as Sam brushed past us.

"You reckon?" She asked, eyes narrowing.

I pulled her to me and ran my lips along her neck. "Mhmmm," I said into her skin. "You can be so … boyishly hunter-like in one moment, kicking ass. Then the next you're this soft, vulnerable, incredible woman... complaining about her boots being soiled." I grinned at her, hoping it wasn't going to set off another one of her weird moods that she'd been in lately.

Beth looked at me, a sad smile twitching at her lips. She reached up, catching my face in her hands and pulling me in for a kiss. I pulled her against me, moaning softly as I angled her head to deepen the moment.

When she pulled away Beth looked a little conflicted. "I'm just a woman Dean," she said softly. "I don't feel like much of a hunter these days."

I sighed, brushing a stray piece of hair out of her eyes. "You'll get back into it, it's just going to take some time." I said to her.

"Do I have time?" She asked, double meaning behind her question.

Her eyes were vulnerable and I thought back to that conversation from the other night.

"Beth it's been barely a month, I'm surprised you're out here at all." I said, in all seriousness. "Maybe we shouldn't be, do you want to take some time off?"

She shook her head. "No, it helps, it helps to just be doing something, not sitting around wallowing..." She trailed off then looked up at me again. "Are you getting what you need?"

I groaned. "Don't worry about me, ok?"

"But I do worry Dean! All the time! I worry that maybe this time we've hit that wall, that one thing which is the breaking of the camel's back. And if it's not this, then hey, just wait, because it won't be long and no doubt something else is going to come along to try and get in our way." She wrung her hands out in front of her as she talked, eyes glittering unshed tears.

"Stop it!" I said sternly, taking her arms in my hands and forcing her to look at me. "Just stop it. I don't know how often I have to say this to get through your beautiful stubborn head... but _I am not going anywhere, _you hear me?"

She looked at me forlornly. I stared her in the eyes.

"Repeat after me," I instructed and she rolled her eyes, but curious just the same.

"Dean won't leave me," I said to her, looking at her expectantly. She sighed. "Come on, say it!"

She laughed nervously. "OK... Dean won't leave me," Beth repeated, and I smiled.

"Dean loves me," I said to her, raising my eyebrow.

"Dean loves me," she said, smiling at me. I nodded approvingly.

"You're enough, you're more than enough, you're everything, ok? And I know I don't say it enough, hell half the time I don't say it at all. But you know me, you know me better than anyone. And _everything _about us is enough, ok?" She looked at me sceptically, and I knew what she was talking about.

"Look, ok maybe it's not ideal, we both know that, but baby... it's only been _five weeks. _You take as long as you need." I pulled her in for another kiss. "And it's not as if you've left me high and dry..." I raised an eyebrow, getting a chuckle out of her. "You don't even have to do that if you don't want... although, you know, I'm not complaining _at all. _You have the most amazing mouth... wherever you put it." I kissed her again and got a laugh out of her.

"OK?" I asked, checking she was all right. She nodded, smiling at me. That was what I wanted to see. "Come on, let's go get something to eat," I said, slipping my arm around her neck and pulling her with me as I walked.

I followed her up the manhole, climbing out, I took her hand – something I never did usually, and pulled her around the corner with me... stopping short.

My baby, my beautiful baby, she had been desecrated! Beth was staring as I dropped her hand, looking frantically at the Impala. Someone had let down the air in all four of her tires.

"Son of a bitch!" I cursed, circling the car. Beth had stooped down, something catching her eye. I looked at what she'd picked up, it was a silver money clip with the initials S.W. engraved on it.

"SAM!" I yelled, heading for the motel room. I was gonna kick his ass!

Sam was reading a book as I entered the motel room.

"You think this is funny?" I asked him, angry.

"It depends," Sam said infuriatingly calm. "What?"

"The car!" I yelled at him. Beth had followed me, and was watching calmly from the door way.

"What about the car?" Sam asked innocently.

"You can't let the air out of the tires. You're gonna bend the rims!" I yelled at him, did he know _nothing _about cars? What a dumbass!

"Whoa, wait a minute. I didn't go near your car." Sam said.

"Oh yeah? Huh. Then how'd Beth find this?" I asked, snatching the money clip out of her hand and holding it up for Sam to see. Sam patted his pocket, standing up.

"Hey, give me back my money," Sam said.

"Oh, no, no. Consider it reparations. For, uh, emotional trauma." I said, shrugging out of my jacket.

"Guys..." Beth groaned at us, shaking her head.

"Yeah, very funny. Now give it back!" Sam said, reaching for the money.

"No," I said, stubborn as all hell.

"Dean, I have had it up to here with you," Sam said to me, holding his hand above his head.

"Oh yeah? Well right back at you!" I said grumpily.

Sam reached for the money again, I avoided him, waving the clip in the air. Sam wasn't giving up. He grabbed at me again, tackling me to the bed where we struggled together.

"Guys! Guys!" Beth yelled, running up to the bed. "Cut it out!"

"Get off me!" I yelled as Sam tried to reach around me from behind, almost piggy backing. He had a leg and arms wrapped around me, trying to get to the money clip.

"Give it back!" Sam yelled, struggling.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

Bobby interrupted Dean's story telling. He'd glossed over the conversation we'd had in the sewers, throwing a secretive smile at me, but other than that he had it pretty much on the money.

"OK, I've heard enough," Bobby said, shaking his head and standing up to look down at the three of us still seated at the table.

"You showed up a few hours after that," Dean said.

"I'm surprised at you three. I really am. Beth, first off – Dean was not off watching porn while you were in the shower, picking up food, or whatever else you were doing when you weren't with him." I frowned at him, but I knew better than to argue with Bobby Singer.

"And Sam – Dean did not steal your computer." Bobby said to Sam.

"But I -" Sam started to protest loudly.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh!" Bobby said loudly, quieting our younger brother as he held out his hand.

"And Dean, Sam did not touch your car," Bobby said, receiving a stern look of disbelief from Dean, who sat at the table, beer in hand.

"Yeah," Sam muttered at Dean who was scowling.

"And if you three had bothered to pull your heads out of your asses, it all would have been pretty clear..." Bobby said to us. I stared at him, confused. _What would have been obvious?_

"What?" Dean asked, voicing the same question I had.

"What you're dealing with," Bobby said, shrugging. The three of us looked at each other, shrugging and looking uncomfortable. We'd been at this a week, a whole week and come up with nothing. How is it that Bobby had figured it out in a couple hours' worth of storytelling?

"Uh..." Sam shook his head at us. I shrugged.

"I got nothing," I said to Bobby, a little embarrassed – researching weird obscure creatures was kind of my thing.

"Me neither," Dean concurred with me.

"You got a trickster on your hands." Bobby said to us.

Dean snapped his fingers and smiled. "That's what I thought," He said without missing a beat. I snorted.

"What?!" Sam said, looking at Dean incredulously. "No you didn't!"

"I got to tell you... _you kids_ were the biggest clue." Bobby said to us.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"These things create chaos and mischief as easy as breathing, and it's got you so turned around and at each other's throats, you can't even think straight," Bobby explained to us.

"The laptop," Sam said.

"The tires," Dean said.

"The porn," I groaned, hitting my head.

"It knows you're onto him, and it's been playing you like fiddles." Bobby said with a nod.

"So, what is it - Spirit, demon, what?" Dean asked.

"Well, more like demigods, really. There's Loki in Scandinavia. There's Anansi in west Africa. Dozens of them. They're immortal, and they can create things out of thin air. Things as real as you and me. Make them vanish just as quick." Bobby explained to us.

"You mean like an angry spirit or an alien or an alligator?" I asked.

"The victims fit the M.O., too. Tricksters target the high and the mighty, knock them down a peg, usually with a sense of humor - deadly pranks, things like that." Bobby said.

"Bobby, what do these things look like?" Dean asked. Now there was a good question.

"Lots of things, but human, mostly." Bobby said.

"And what human do we know who's been at ground zero this whole time?" Dean asked both Sam and I. We looked at each other and thought about it. Sam and I got it at the same time.

"The Janitor!" We said in unison.

* * *

_**Crawford Hall  
**__**Present Day**__**  
**_

**Beth's POV**

The Trickster, still in the guise of the janitor, was showing Dean and I up to the third floor under the pretense that they needed to check some wiring up there.

"Sorry I'm dragging a little ass today, boys. Had quite the night last night. Lots of sex, if you catch my drift," I overheard the Trickster say as I hid down another corridor.

"Yeah," Dean said, "hard not to." I smirked and shook my head, I still did kind of wonder if he really meant what he said to me sometimes, or whether he was just telling me what I wanted to hear.

The trickster looked around and raised an eyebrow. "Just the two of you today?"

Dean looked smug and grinned. "Yeah, she had quite the night too... if you get my drift," he said, mirroring the Trickster's amusement.

"Well all right bro!" He said back to Dean with a high five. Dean chuckled, it was almost like he liked this guy.

"Listen, we won't be long. We just need to check a couple of offices up on three." Sam said, trailing behind them, shaking his head.

"No problem." The Trickster said with a cheerful nod of his head.

Once they were out of sight I hurried down the stairs to the locked gate. It led to the employee locker storage area, pulling my lockpicking tools out. It was an easy enough lock to pick and I was in within seconds.

I rummaged through the lockers, looking for any evidence of the Trickster but there was nothing to be found. I got to his locker, there was a copy of _Weekly World News, _but that was it. I sighed. _Nothing. _

I met Sam and Dean at the front of the building when they came back out.

"Anything?" Dean asked, I shook my head.

"No, a copy of _Weekly World News _but that was it," I said.

"Hmm..." Dean mused. "Well I still think he's our guy."

"Just 'cause he reads the _Weekly World News _doesn't mean he's our guy. You read it too!" Sam said to Dean, frowning.

"I'm telling you, it's him." Dean said crossly.

"Look, I just think we need some hard proof. That's all," Sam said, trying to reason with Dean.

Dean looked about, thinking. "Well, another thing Bobby mentioned was that these suckers have a metabolism like an insect, a real sweet tooth."

"I didn't find any candy bars or sugar." I said, shaking my head. "Not even Equal."

Dean frowned. "You probably missed something," he said. I gaped at him.

"I don't miss things Dean," I said angrily, eyes narrowing.

"Oh right, 'cause you're Miss Perfect? Don't make mistakes?" He asked, turning steely eyes to me.

"What? Are you really still pissed at me over that porn thing?" I asked, crossing my arms at him.

"Well, if the shoe fits. You know me better than that, have I _ever _done anything like that with you around? No!" He said, his voice dripping with anger, and something else... hurt.

I sighed, and glanced up at the Crawford Hall windows. The Trickster was watching us. I turned away so he couldn't see what I was saying.

"Look, just... stay here and keep and eye on the Janitor. Beth and I can go to his place and see if we can find any _actual evidence _before you go barging in and staking the man!" Sam said, staring at Dean.

"Yeah, just wait until we get back, ok?" I said, pleading with Dean to see reason.

Dean looked long and hard at me, assessing what I had to say before sighing.

"OK?!" Sam asked, annoyed.

"OK!" Dean conceded and ran a hand across his face in frustration.

Sam and I left him to it. I looked back about a block away and saw him still out the front of the building, pacing.

* * *

_**Crawfold Hall  
**__**Several Hours Later**__**  
**_

**Dean's POV**

I waited for Sam and Beth to return for hours. After a while I gave up and decided to look around. A little peek wouldn't hurt. It was dark so I got my flash-light out of my jacket and entered cautiously into the building. The stairways were empty. I put the flash-light away and pulled out the wooden stake Bobby had told us to use.

As I moved to go up the last flight of stairs I thought I heard something behind me. I turned, tucking the stake back in my jacket. There were double doors leading into an auditorium, or theatre. I pushed them open, working my way down the stairs.

On the stage was a round bed with a tacky canopy and rotating disco ball. Lights were flashing in all different colours from the row lights above me, and Barry White's _Can't get enough of your love _played over the speakers. Probably most surprising was getting a look at Beth in the ever elusive Princess Leia bikini, laying seductively on the bed.

I tilted my head to the side, raising an eyebrow and walked down to the stage.

"I've been waiting for you Dean," Beth said, crawling toward me to lie on the bed as if she were sitting beside Jabba the Hutt himself.

I paused, I liked how this guy rolled, I really did, and _damn _that outfit was really doing it for me. But..

"Y-y-you're not real," I practically stuttered out, fighting with myself over whether or not that really mattered right now.

Beth paused and smiled at me salaciously. "Trust me, sugar, it's gonna feel real."

"Huh..." I laughed nervously, thinking about what Beth would say to that.

"Come on..." fake Beth said to me. "Let me give you a massage..."

I took a deep breath, thinking it over. "You know, I'm a – I'm a sucker for Beth and her happy endings. Really, I am, but … I'm – I'm gonna have to pass." I said regretfully, that outfit did look really, really good.

The Trickster's voice sounded from behind me. "She's a peace offering," he said, and I spun to look at him.

"I know what you guys do. I've been around a while. Run into your kind before," he said while lounging in the stadium seating.

"Well, then you know that I... can't let you just keep hurting people," I said to him.

The Trickster rolled his eyes at me, looking exasperated. "Come on! Those people got what was coming to them. Hoisted on their own petards. But you, and Beth, and Sam – I like you guys. I do. I know things haven't been so crash hot on the homefront lately with Beth... so here, treat yourself... long as you want. Just long enough for me to move on to the next town." He pulled out a candy bar from his shirt and started unwrapping it.

"Yeah, I don't think I can let you do that." I said, shaking my head.

The Trickster turned serious. "I don't want to hurt you. And you know that I can."

"Look man, I – I gotta tell you, I dig your style, all right? I mean..." I said, looking back at Beth lying all seductively on the bed with a flirtatious smile. "I do. I mean...that... and the slow-dancing alien..."

"One of my personal favourites. Yeah," said the Trickster with a laugh.

"But, uh, I can't let you go." I finished.

"Too bad," said the Trickster, looking at me. "Like I said, I like you. Beth and Sam, they were right. You shouldn't have come alone."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, I'll agree with you there." I said to him, looking up at the back of the room.

The door slammed shut, and now instead of an empty room, there was Sam and Beth, and Bobby on the other side, each carrying their own stakes.

The Trickster looked at us all appraisingly, and shook his head. "That fight you guys all had outside – that was a trick?" He asked and I nodded. "Hmm... not bad. But you want to see a real trick?"

A masked man with a chainsaw suddenly appeared behind Sam and Beth swinging at them with his deadly weapon. They ducked, scampering out of the way, before engaging him. I swung my stake at the Trickster only to have it intercepted by the fake Beth.

I looked up to see the masked attacker swing his chainsaw at Sam, who dove across several rows of seats to escape, the chainsaw hitting the wall and making a huge mess. The Trickster laughed delightedly.

Fake Beth threw me clear across to the stage and I landed at the end of the bed with a thump. Within seconds she was on me again, and right hooked me in the jaw. Another scantily dressed Beth appeared before me, making it two and she hit me as well, picking me up from the ground like I was a feather pillow and tossing me across to the front row of chairs where I landed in front of the Trickster again.

"Oooh nice toss ladies!" The Trickster laughed.

Beth, the real Beth was ducking from behind the chainsaw man as Bobby and Sam grappled with his attacks. She caught my eye as the Trickster stood up, looking at me.

"Dean... Dean, Dean, Dean," he said to me, shaking his head. My stake had fallen across the room, it was nowhere near me, but it was near Beth. She was staring at her doppelgangers on stage and then looked at me. I glanced down as the Trickster talked and she saw what I needed. "I did not want to have to do this..." The Trickster said as Beth jumped over a few seats, grabbing and then tossing me the stake. I caught it, spinning around and using the momentum to stab the stake straight into the Trickster's chest.

"Me neither," I muttered to his shocked look of surprise.

As the stake ground in further, the fake Beth's disappeared, as did the chainsaw man. I pulled the stake back out and the Trickster fell back into the seat, dead.

Beth was almost instantly at my side, and I pulled her into my arms, kissing the top of her head. "You ok?" I asked quietly, and she nodded, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I looked over at Sam and Bobby as they walked up to us. "You guys ok?"

"Yeah. I guess," Sam replied with a shrug.

"All I got to say..." I said, with a grin, looking down at Beth. "He had style!" She laughed and shook her head. I groaned, and Beth reached up to tentatively touch the gash at the side of my head, grimacing.

"Come on, let's go," she said to me, pulling me toward the door. "So that's still your ultimate fantasy eh?" Beth asked, as we headed up the steps to the exit.

"You better believe it," I said with a grin pulling her to me and lifting her chin so I could look in her eyes. Bobby and Sam brushed past us, rolling their eyes. "Pity we couldn't save the outfit..." I muttered as I claimed her lips in a hungry kiss.

* * *

_**Outside Crawford Hall  
Present Day**_

**Beth's POV**

We all felt a little awkward at how we'd been behaving recently, and it showed as we headed back to the Impala.

"Bobby, thanks a lot," Dean said as we reached the Impala where they were waiting for us.

"Hey, save it! Let's just get the hell out of dodge before somebody finds that body," Bobby said, brushing the gratitude aside.

Sam paused and looked across at us. "Look, guys, um... I just want to say that I'm, uh... ummm." He struggled to get the words out, apologies just weren't the Winchester way.

"Hey, me too," Dean said, interrupting him. I nodded by agreement.

"You guys are breaking my heart!" Bobby muttered, rolling his eyes. "Could we please just leave?" He climbed in to the back of the Impala and I joined him with a little smile.

Sam and Dean hesitated just a moment, having one of their silent brother bonding moments, and then joined us.

"So where to?" Dean said, looking in the mirror at Bobby and me.

"Well, I had to steal a car to get here," Bobby said gruffly, "you might as well give me a ride home!"

Dean laughed and nodded, putting the car into drive. It was going to be a twelve hour drive easy, if we didn't stop to get back to Bobby's. I settled in, putting my earphones in and laid my head back against the seat letting the music drain out any thoughts raging through my head. It would be good to go to Bobby's, maybe we could spend a few days there, recouperating. God knows we needed it.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is the _Unwell _by Matchbox 20, an oldie but a goodie.

* * *

Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter – I'm so glad you enjoyed it, even with the difficult content. I agree – it was heart breaking to do to them both, but it'll all work out in the end for them :) I will try and get individual PMs out in the next day – I hope you enjoy this little fun episode just as much!

* * *

To Sam (who left a guest review so I couldn't PM you) – thanks for your review and comments! I have taken them all on board, and yes, the Sam/Ruby thing will all be explained in due course :) A couple of your suggestions are already in the works, and there will be a flashback coming up sometime in the near future too :) You can check out some pre-relationship Dean & Beth courtesy of EarthhAngel's fan fic _How to Save A Life _too, she is incorporating them into her story in accordance with my timeline and I am just loving what is coming out – lots of angst between them both because it's just a few months before they get together. Plus – John smut! Lots of John smut! So do go over and check her story out too.

* * *

There is also a NEW CHAPTER up over at _How To Save A Life _so please go on over and check it out at EarthhAngel's fics – especially if you're interested in seeing some John smut, omg the man is hot! A really fun Dean & Beth moment in there too. Be sure to leave a review and encourage her to keep writing, I want to see this story get finished! :D

* * *

Next up, Dean and Beth get some alone time to deal with baby Patrick's death, and help out a young lady too, in _Roadkill._

* * *

_Please read and review! Mahalo :)_


	17. Roadkill

_I didn't think I needed you_

_But I need you now_

_Was so empty in me_

_To feel you crashing down_

_Into the empty world_

_The music stops_

_I want to rescue want to scream out loud_

_You will always be mine_

* * *

**ROADKILL**

* * *

_**Bobby's House**_

_**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_

I was fingering my rosary; it'd been a long time since I'd prayed for anything. I struggled to find the words, to see a greater good in anything. I found myself standing in front of the little garden Bobby had allowed me to set up a long time ago, tucked behind the gym. With my angel obsession I collected angel statues, big and small, all over the countryside. They all found their way here eventually, to my angel shrine.

A multitude of faces stared up at me and I hated each and every one of them. The babies I hated the most, all the little cherubs smiling at me. I shifted the club from my left to right hand, spinning it a couple of times like it was a baton. We'd used them as teenagers when John had decided we needed to learn to fight with a machete. Now we used the real thing and these gathered dust in the tired old garage which doubled as a gym and workout area.

I sized up one of the bigger cherubs, I'd found it on a hunt down in Texas for a revenant and Dean had given me a hard time all the way home for bringing it with us. I twisted my grip around the handle of the club, hesitating, then it all flashed back to me, the blood, the lights, the excruciating pain – it drove me to a dark place which blanketed me, making it hard to breathe. I fell into the black, and with it smashed the club down on the cherub, taking its head off.

The abyss consumed me, like being sucked into a spillway, the water rushing overhead and pulling me under. Their faces all stared, promises of protection just empty words. Swinging randomly, I broke them all, destroying them piece by piece. All that remained was a reminder of how broken I should feel inside.

I hit the ground, the solid dirt at my knees pulling me back into my body. I wanted to cry, but soundless screams stayed locked in my throat. I was prostrated before a broken shrine, my forehead pushed to the ground, the cold damp seeping into my brain.

"Beth!" Sam knelt beside me, and when I didn't move he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me to my feet. I resisted with a groan, sucking in a mouthful of air as he led me away from the scene of the destruction.

"Let me go!" I whimpered. He hesitated, and I stomped down on his foot and pulled forward, breaking his grip, turning on him with a wide punch. He blocked it easily, and lashed out at him with a kick to the shin in its place. It connected and I heard the sharply expelled breath come from his mouth.

We tussled, Sam moving in closer to get at my arms, me throwing punches to his stomach, his chest, beating against him in sheer desperation to feel anything. He held me tight as I struggled against him, pinned to his chest; I pushed and pushed until I felt the fight go out of me, slumping against him and letting the tears fall.

"Oh Beth," Sam whispered, holding on to me. He lifted me in his arms and carried me away from the angel garden which lay in ruin. There was a couch inside the gym, I hadn't been anywhere near it in a month, but he took me there now, placing me down on the cushions and sitting next to me, peering at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes.

I drew my right knee up to my chest and gripped it tightly, resting my hand and chin on it while I brushed at the tears furiously.

"You can't keep going like this." Sam said to me, tears in his eyes.

I leaned my head against my knee, staring out the open side of the gym toward the woods beyond. The trees blurred, and further still there were mountains and I just wanted to run.

"I can't even look at you Sam," I whispered.

"I know," he said sadly with a sigh.

"I just want Dad," I said, tears coming fresh into my eyes. "You know, he always knew what to do...he'd know what to say..."

"He wouldn't say anything more than what any of us have already said to you Beth," Sam said to me. "You just need time."

"I don't want time!" I said quietly, squeezing my eyes tight, fighting back the tears.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, frowning.

"I mean, we've always just worked the job, pushed through the pain," I said. Sitting back against the armrest I forced myself to look at Sam, to see the care and love that sat there in his eyes, and the guilt, the quiet desperation behind it all that told me he was struggling just as much as I was.

"I don't know how to deal with this any other way... I thought maybe you guys were right, I just needed time. But now I don't know." I said numbly. I'd stopped feeling anything when we arrived here, slowly the cold had been clutching at my heart.

Sam frowned, not understanding. "Is Dean pushing you?" He asked.

"No!" I said, shaking my head quickly. "No, he's... not pushed me at all. Maybe that's half the problem, he's nothing like himself, he keeps telling me to take as long as I need, in _everything _and I just…it's just not him Sam. It's not Dean. It's not the way we were raised; it's not the way we were trained."

"Beth, Dean loves you," Sam stated and I smiled, looking down at my hands.

"I know that," I said quietly. I ran my hands through my hair, letting out a shaky breath.

"But I'm not the same person I was, I can't give him what he needs." I said, somehow putting into words what I'd been feeling all these weeks.

"He won't leave you Beth," Sam said with a frown.

"Everyone leaves me Sam, eventually." I said, putting my head back on my knee.

Sam stared at me for a while, speechless. I sighed and stood up from the couch, going over to one of the cupboards in the shed, pulling out some sparring pads. I tossed them to Sam. "Get up," I ordered him.

He smirked and got to his feet, slipping the pads over his wrists and holding them up. I bounced in place, getting my balance, loosening my joints and then started with a long range round house kick, hitting the pad with as much force as I could. I stepped back and repeated, switching legs after each round of kicks.

Eventually I moved into throwing some punches, circling Sam and beating at the pads, pushing him around the room. He was strong enough to take it, and I had a lot of anger, so I didn't hold back. I threw in a combination kick and double punch, dancing around him.

I felt that familiar calm come over me, and I sank into my kill zone, focused on those pads, on Sam. Kick after punch, a flurry of muscle and bone pounding into the target. I lost all sight of anything outside of myself until I heard a crunching sound, and looked up to see that Sam had hit a wall, the pads having long been discarded. I was pounding him in the ribs, and he wasn't even trying to defend himself. This made me even angrier, that he would stand there and take it, but there was a punishing look in his eyes; self-punishment, as if I had a right to beat the shit out of him. I was so angry at him, after all we'd sacrificed for him, that I went to punch him in the face.

My arm snapped to stillness, a hand clasping around my wrist and pulling me away from Sam.

"Why don't you pick on someone who'll fight back?" Dean said to me, eye to eye. There was a quiet calm underneath those hazel eyes, assessing me. Bobby moved to help Sam up from the wall, pulling his arm around his neck and half carrying him from the room.

I shoved Dean away from me and tilted my head at him, he put up his fists and then beckoned with one hand for me to attack. I raised an eyebrow and sank back into my hand-to-hand combat training. I threw a right punch at Dean and he blocked it left-handed, my left hand jab was intercepted by his right hand and he brought his left hand round to backhand me across the cheek – the sting was sharp and I hissed in response.

I slunk back, assessing him. He'd actually hit me, we hadn't sparred like that in years. _Good._ I smirked, and prowled around, looking for a way in to him. He tossed a right-hander at me and I blocked it, grasping his wrist with my left hand and twisting it, as I turned sideways, bringing my right elbow up to connect with his ribs. He growled and broke the hold I had on his wrist, taking mine up instead, and kneeing me in the stomach, winding me.

Dean pushed me to the training mat and I rolled over, coughing, but relatively unharmed, he hadn't meant to hurt me or I'd be on the ground out cold. I climbed to my feet, and attacked again with a steady round of hits and kicks, each one met by him – he knew me, and my style, hell he was the one who had trained me – I didn't really have a hope of beating him, but it felt good trying.

"This is what you want, huh?" Dean asked, starting to breathe a little faster, eyes glaring. "You want to hurt?"

He feinted left, before spinning around to land an open-handed hit to my side, I flinched and pulled back. Watching him, waiting.

"Better than feeling nothing at all," I said to him quietly.

"Cherry-pie, if I thought you were feeling nothing at all, we'd be having a whole different conversation right now." Dean said, shaking his head at me.

I moved quickly, bringing my left foot in to connect with his inner left ankle, throwing him off balance and simultaneously throwing a right jab to his kidney. He hissed and hopped around to face me.

Dean swung at me from the left, and I blocked the punch, leaning into it, turning my body side on and slapping him with my left hand before turning my right to smack him across the jaw. He took it and shoved me back from him, and I hit the wall – physically and mentally, slumping to the ground and breathing heavily.

"You know I've been spending these last few days trying to figure out what I can do to get through to you," Dean said to me, advancing on my position. He grabbed me effortlessly by the arms, hauling me to my feet and then pushing me against the wall again.

"I just don't know what you want Beth, I mean, do you want a drill sargeant? Do you want to be pulled out of bed and forced to fight until your body aches and you feel numb?" He looked conflicted, holding me tight. I dared not even move, even if I could have.

"Yeah, yeah I do," I said to him, challenging.

He growled in frustration, hitting the wall behind me. "No you don't!" He said hoarsely. "You don't remember what it was like, pulling you out of bed every damn morning, forcing you to go to a place you never wanted to go – to become a warrior you were never meant to be – it was wrong Beth, and Dad never should have done it. It broke something inside of you, and I thought you might never get over it." I swallowed, and he glared at me, angry.

His eyes softened the longer he looked at me. "But you did, somehow, I don't know how. You came back into the light, and be damned if I'm going to see you throw that away."

"You can't help me with this Dean, no one can," I said, chewing on my lip – I was lying, he'd been the only one who helped me last time, but he didn't know that and I didn't want the help this time, I wanted to hurt.

Dean took a deep breath, there was an anguish deep under those eyes, fuelled by a simmering rage.

"You want to feel something?" He asked, frowning at me. I nodded, tears in my eyes.

He let out a deep sigh and pushed me back against the wall, pinning me there, bringing his lips to mine and forcing his tongue in to do a fierce and fiery battle with my own.

I reached up to slide my hands over his shoulders, pulling him in to me. Quiet confident hands slid up my sides, under my sweat-soaked t-shirt, as he pulled me in against him, one hand holding me firmly at my lower back, one pinned behind my neck. He kissed me hotly along my jawline, nipping and drawing a gasp from me.

He grunted approval at the sound and rammed me hard against the wall, gaining another gasp. Within seconds he had me panting against him, he lifted me up and I obligingly wrapped my legs around his waist. He rocked into me a few times, I felt his hard pulsing arousal there. I gulped for a moment, uncertain of where he was going.

"Wait..." I said, but he ignored me, holding one hand firmly under my buttocks and against the wall. A hand slid between us and pushed inside my pants, exposing me to him, wide open with my legs wrapped around him.

I started to panic, just a little, startling out of the rage-filled space I'd been in. "You want to feel something, I can give you something to feel Beth," he said with a hint of anger and frustration. His fingers flicked across my clit, I shuddered, losing focus until I felt him start to press a finger inside of me.

"Dean, stop." I said, slightly panicked. "Don't." I wasn't ready, I couldn't do that, even if I wanted to.

I was scared to know how it would feel, scared anything would hurt after all the butchering that had happened down there to stop me from bleeding to death. The stitches in my cervix had healed, but the scars... they would take a lot longer.

I felt him slide in a second finger, just partly and my breath caught.

"Stop... stop, stop, stop..." I said, gasping, pulling back and throwing a frightened look at him.

He froze, watching me, waiting for something. I don't know what he saw, but it changed his attitude in a moment. He sighed and his hand moved out from between us, allowing that barrier of my pants to separate us again. He moved us to the couch, perching on the armrest as he kept me in his lap, my legs still wrapped firmly around his waist.

Both hands travelled up to grasp my face, his thumbs brushing across my cheeks, his fingers tangling in my hair as he looked at me.

"I'm not going to make you feel through pain Beth, I'm not Dad, I can't drill this into you through brute force." He kissed me again, this time it was firm, but without the anger. I felt myself yield to him, kissing him back with a hungry passion.

I smiled when he pulled me back to look at me. His hand tugged a little at my hair as he pulled away and I sighed, a small moan escaping my lips. He looked surprised when I closed my eyes and leaned into that seemingly insignificant thing. It felt good.

"Do that again..." I whispered, and felt his hand wrap around the base of my skull, fingers tangling in my hair, tugging at it with a sharp pull. It was almost like he was kneading my hair; running his fingers through the longer parts, pulling firmly on it as he got to the ends. I let me head go limp, swaying to the whatever direction he pulled, completely surrendering to his touch, just enough to cause a sensation, not enough to bring pain. I moaned softly, licking my lips and he yanked my head gently back to expose my neck to his mouth, sucking on it, and when I groaned, he nipped at the skin, a sharp, intense feeling spreading down my body.

"We're going away for a few days, just you and me." He said decisively his breath hot on my skin.

"Where?" I asked, still lost in the sensations of my body reacting to him.

"A job, Nevada." He said, nipping again at my jaw, pressing his teeth against the bone, the sharp sensation drew another contented sigh from me. He smoothed the nip over with a couple of kisses as he pulled back slightly to look at me.

"So no more pussy-footing around you." Dean said. "You get up and you fight, you give it all that you've got because I am not going to lose you to despair. I want you with me." I nodded and wrapped my arms around him pulling him close.

"I love you," I whispered into his neck, kissing him lightly as I started to feel a little sleepy, emotionally drained from the last hour.

* * *

_**Highway 41  
Nevada**_

We'd been driving along the highway for a good couple of hours. I sighed, looking out at the trees rushing by, lit up only by the headlights of the Impala. It was the wee hours of morning, long before dawn and we'd been on the road since midnight, working the job. I turned to Dean, he was quiet and contemplative in the driver's seat, not having said much recently.

"Maybe we have the wrong day," I said, chewing on my lip.

"Nope, all the reports definitely say today." He disagreed, shaking his head.

I sighed, and leaned back in the seat. This was taking forever. Who ever heard of a tardy ghost?

"Well maybe he hasn't found the victim yet." I said, giving it all some thought. It wasn't exactly a complicated annual ghost story, girl's car breaks down, man tries to kill her, man ends up being a violent ghost. Yeah, nothing to it.

"Maybe we have the wrong road, you checked the map again?" Dean asked, looking over at me.

"We're not on the wrong road Dean, I know how to read a map!" I countered, giving him an angry look. Being cooped up in the car together was starting to take its toll, even without Sam here.

"Well I'm just saying, maybe we took a turn we shouldn't have," Dean muttered, looking back to the road.

"Are you questioning my ability to do the job?" I asked sharply, glaring at him. "Because it was your idea to come out here alone and..." I never finished.

Dean hit the breaks hard, and I looked up just in time to see a bedraggled woman standing in the middle of the road. "Holy!" He exclaimed, gripping the wheel until he was white-knuckled.

"You've got to help me!" The girl cried out desperately, coming around to my side of the car and pounding on the window. I rolled it down and she pleaded with us. "Please! Please!"

"All right, all right," I said as evenly as I could. "Calm down, tell us what happened."

She pulled away from the car, pacing back and forth along the road. Dean pulled off to the side in case any other traffic came, and then we got out to speak with the girl. I sat cross-legged on the hood, watching her.

"I – I swerved, and we crashed. And when I came to, the car was wrecked and my husband was missing." Molly said distressed – she looked like she'd just gone a couple of rounds with a wild grizzly bear, her medium length brown hair was messed up and tangled, her clothing torn from running into tree branches.

"I went looking for him, but that's when the man from the road, he – started chasing me." Molly continued with her story.

"Did he look like he lost a fight with a lawn mower?" Dean asked calmly and I shook my head imperceptively at him – we weren't supposed to know what he looked like!

"How did you know that?" Molly asked breathlessly, looking at him.

Dean shrugged, realising his mistake. "Lucky guess." He answered with a grin.

"What's your name?" I asked the girl, and she stopped pacing to look at us.

"Molly. Molly McNamara." She answered. I looked at Dean and he nodded slightly. We needed to get her out of here.

"Well, Molly, I'm Beth, this is Dean. I think maybe you should come with us. We'll take you back into town." I unfolded my legs and slid down the hood to land on the ground.

"I can't. I have to find David. He might have gone back to the car," she said, shaking her head and looking around the dark woods.

"We should get you somewhere safe first," Dean said, looking at her. "Then I'll come back and look for your husband."

"No. I'm not leaving here without him." She said stubbornly, tears welling in her eyes. "Would you just take me back to my car, please?" Molly asked quietly. Dean and I exchanged another look and I sighed. _They never make it easy._

"Of course." I said to her quietly. "Come on." I opened the back seat door and held it open for her. After a moments hesitation she climbed in behind me, and sat forward to direct Dean on where to go. It didn't take us long to reach the place. We exited the car and made our way into the woods, Molly leading us. Snow blanketed the ground around us, it was the end of winter so it was starting to melt, leaving us a muddy terrain to contend with.

"It's right over there," Molly said, pointing down an embankment. Dean shone a flashlight down where she pointed. There was nothing there. Molly froze when she didn't see the car she'd been talking about. "I don't understand. I'm sure this is where it was. W-we hit that tree right there. This...this doesn't make any sense." She moved down the embankment to look at the tree, lost in her own world.

I shone my own flashlight around anxiously and looked Dean in the eyes. "Dean, we have to get her out of here. Greeley could show up at any second." I said to him, biting my lower lip at the thought.

"What you gonna tell her?" Dean asked with the same look he always gave me or Sam when we had stupid ideas.

"The truth?" I suggested to which he smirked.

"She's gonna take off running in the other direction," Dean answered, falling quiet as Molly turned to us from the bottom of the embankment, looking up.

"I know it sounds crazy, but I crashed into that tree. I don't know who could've taken it. It was totaled. Please. You have to believe me," she looked desperately at us with the look of a frightened rabbit.

"Molly, listen, we do believe you all right? But that's why we want to get you out of here," I said to her, glancing around in to the shadows. Nothing worse than waiting around for a homicidal ghost to show up.

"What about David?" Molly asked, looking worried. "Something must have happened. I have to get to the cops." She started toward the car and Dean latched on to that idea like it was gold.

"Cops... that's a great idea." Dean said, latching on to it like a life raft. "We'll take you down to the station ourselves. So just come with us. It's the best way we can help you and your husband." He said, nodding to me.

"Ok..."Molly agreed with a nod.

Within minutes we were back on the road, Molly resuming her position in the back seat.

"We're supposed to be in Lake Tahoe," she said quietly, sounding sad.

"You and David?" I asked, turning around to look at her.

Molly nodded with a small smile. "It's our five-year anniversary," she said to us.

Dean looked over at me, a knowing look in his eyes. "Hell of an anniversary," he muttered, turning back to the road. I had to agree.

Molly shook her head, and gave a little eye roll. "Right before, we were having the dumbest fight. It was the only time we ever really argued... when we were stuck in the car."

"Yeah, I know how that goes," I said quietly, glancing over at Dean. Suddenly, given the situation at hand, it seemed silly for us to be fighting over something as trivial as our location on a map, or one's ability to find said location. Dean gave me a similar look before turning back to the road.

"You know the last thing I said to him? I called him a jerk. Oh, god! What if that's the last thing I said to him?" She asked, she stifled a sob with a hand to her mouth, eyes starting to pool with tears.

"Molly..." I said, turning to face her. "We're going to figure out what happened to your husband. I promise."

There was a sizzling pop noise from the radio as it came quietly to life playing _House of the Rising Sun. _Dean frowned at it and looked over at me.

"Did you?" He asked.

I shook my head, "No." We both swallowed hard, looking around nervously.

"I was afraid you'd say that," Dean muttered, his eyes now peeled to the road ahead of us.

"This song," Molly said sitting forward. "It was playing when we crashed."

The radio crackled again, turning to static. A creepy voice could suddenly be heard. _She's mine. She's mine. She's mine._

"What is that?" Molly asked of the words repeating over the radio. I looked at Dean and we both shared a moment of displeasure at the words. Our resident ghost, Greeley suddenly appeared before us in the middle of the road looking beat to hell, I grimaced when I saw the mutilated condition he appeared to us in, his intestines hanging from a fatal wound in his stomach.

"Hold on," Dean said and hit the gas pedal, the Impala lurched forward toward the figure.

"What are you doing?!" Molly cried out in panic. Dean didn't answer, simply drove straight through the figure who vanished into a cloud of smoke as soon as we made impact. Molly's breathing was coming ragged and short, and she looked around to see that there was no one in the road.

"What the... what the hell just happened?" She asked, turning back to with a shocked expression.

"Don't worry Molly. Everything's going to be all right," I said to her, looking at the road. Dean was checking the rearview mirror every five seconds, chewing on his lower lip. As if on cue, _because nothing ever is that simple when it comes to our lives, _the Impala started to shudder and the engine cut.

"Spoke a little too soon, Bethie," Dean said to me with a grimace. He steered the car to the side of the road as it coasted to a stop. The engine spluttered and refused to turn over as Dean tried again and again to get the Impala started again. "I don't think he's going to let her leave," he said finally, turning to look at the frightened girl in the back seat.

We got out of the car, Dean heading straight for the trunk and unlocking it.

"This can't be happening," Molly said, getting out and shutting the car door behind her.

"Well," Dean said, opening the trunk. "Trust me, it's happening." He opened the hidden arsenal in the back and started pulling out weapons, ammo, shotgun, salt. Molly rounded the corner and saw what we took for granted every day, and started to back away slowly.

"Well... ok. Thanks for helping, but I think I got it covered from here," she said carefully, her eyes taking on a new glint as it became clear she thought we were a psychopathic duo or something.

I walked after her quickly. "Wait. Molly. Molly, wait a minute," I jogged the last few yards to her and she turned to walk away.

"Just leave me alone," she said, walking quickly.

"No, please. You have to listen to me," I said to her, cursing our stupidity.

"Just stay away," she kept walking. I decided then and there that the only way was the truth, Sammy would be proud.

"Listen, Molly, it wasn't a coincidence that we found you, all right?" I said, and she paused, looking back at me.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, looking confused.

Dean was on board with the whole truth telling thing, jumping in with his contribution. "We weren't out cruising for a late night quickie when we ran into you sister. We were already out here. Hunting." I grinned at the late night quickie reference, trying not to show it.

"Hunting for what?" Molly asked quietly, taking a few steps back toward us. I took a breath, trying to word this delicately.

"Ghosts," Dean answered quickly and I gaped at him. He turned and walked back to the trunk with a shake of his head.

"Uhhh, don't sugar coat it for her or anything," I said with a semi-laugh.

"You guys are nuts," Molly said, predictably.

Dean was losing patience and he spun around to look back at her. "Really? About as nuts as a vanishing guy with his guts spilling out?" He gestured around his stomach, the imagery coming back to my mind and causing a shudder to run down my spine. Molly just stared at Dean, defiant, not wanting to admit it. Dean raised an eyebrow at her and looked smug. "You know what you saw," he said finally.

I took a moment to try and explain to her. "We think his name is Jonah Greeley. He was a farmer that died fifteen years ago on this highway." I said.

"Just stop," Molly ordered me, shaking her head, but I ignored her.

"One night a year, on the anniversary of his death, he haunts this road. That's why we're here Molly. To try and stop him." I tried my best puppy-dog look on her, the one I'd learned from Sammy.

Molly softened, as if what we were saying might be getting through to her. "Now, I suppose this ghost made my car disappear, too?"

"Crazier things have happened," Dean said, walking past me and punching me gently in the arm with a semi-smile "Huh?" He asked me. I chuckled and shook my head.

"You know what?" Molly said, watching this little exchange. "I'm all filled up on crazy. I'm gonna get the cops myself." She turned to walk away again.

"I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't think you're gonna get too far," Dean said, straight to the point.

Molly turned, looking a little frightened. "What is that supposed to mean?" She asked suspiciously.

"It means that plan A was to get you out of here. Obviously that didn't go over too well with, uh, Farmer Roadkill," Dean said, gesturing back toward where we'd seen the ghost.

"Molly, we're telling the truth. Greeley's not gonna let you leave this highway," I said, looking around the bare trees. They seemed stark and harsh against the moonlight shining above.

"You're s... you're serious about this, aren't you?" Molly asked, starting to look like she was getting it. She walked toward us, tears in her eyes.

"Deadly," Dean said with a nod.

"Every year, Greeley finds someone to punish for what happened to him. Tonight that person is you." I said to her.

"Why me? I didn't do anything!" She said, looking resigned.

"Doesn't matter," I said sadly, wishing it could be different. "Some spirits only see what they want." I said pointedly, and she looked back at me, panic coming into her eyes.

"So you're saying this Greeley, he took my husband?" She startled, taking a few short breaths. "Oh god."

"Molly, look, we're gonna help, all right? But first, you have to help us." I said to her, approaching her like I might a frightened dog that was cornered.

"Help you? How?" Molly asked. I looked at Dean, he frowned. We really hadn't wanted to get to this point with her around.

* * *

**Hunting Cabin**

Molly led us to the cabin she had been talking about, the one where she'd last seen Greeley. It was tucked away in the woods and looked as if no one had accessed the place in a very long time. The door was off it's hinges and hanging wide open, Dean stepped in front of us and shone his flash-light around.

"This is it. This is where I saw him," Molly said, looking around the entry to the room before us.

"Must have been his hunting cabin," Dean said to me. He walked over to look at the viscious tools hanging from the ceiling. The table underneath them was bloodstained and unwashed. It looked like a butcher shop in here. "Seemed like a real sweet guy," Dean said to me with a raised eyebrow.

I wandered outside, casting my eyes around, not finding what I was looking for. The ground was bare, the winter had killed all the foliage, there were no leaves on the trees, life anywhere. It was stark and cold, and creeping me the hell out as usual.

"No markers or headstones outside," I reported to Dean when I got back to the cabin.

"You're looking for Greeley's grave?" Molly asked as I stepped into the room, pulling my jacket tighter around me, I was starting to feel a chill seep into my very bones.

"Yeah," I confirmed, nodding at her.

"Why?" It was a fair question. I wondered how much more crazy it was going to make us look if I answered it.

"So we can gid up the corpse and salt and burn it." Dean said simply, like she should already know that.

"Oh. Sure. Naturally," Molly said with a bit of a sarcastic chuckle.

"It's a way to get rid of a spirit," I explained to her and she nodded.

"And that'll save David?" She asked, hope in her eyes.

I chose my words carefully, not wanting to upset her anymore than she already was. Thankfully, for once, Dean shut his big mouth.

"This is what will help both of you," I said to her. "Provided there's a corpse to be found."

Molly nodded enthusiastically at me. "So how do we find it?"

"Uh, not sure. After Greeley died, his wife claimed the body. And that was the last anyone saw of her. So good guess she brought him back here. But they have a thousand acres. He could be buried anywhere on 'em." I said, it was a long shot, but there were a few places we could look, most people didn't just pick a random spot to bury someone, they chose a place that was dear to them, or close by, or perhaps a family burial plot on the land.

"Is is really what you guys do? You're like Ghostbusters?" Molly asked, looking a little sceptical.

"Yeah," I said with a smile. It sounded ridiculous any way you put it.

"Minus the jumpsuits," Dean said, his tone turned brisk as he looked at me, frustration burning in his eyes. "This is a fascinating conversation and all ladies, but this highway is only haunted once a year, and we got till sun up to wrap this thing up. What do you say we move it along, okay? Great." He brushed past me with little more than a glance, and I frowned, watching him go. What the hell was going on with him all of a sudden?

Molly tagged along with me, seeming to take comfort in having someone around to talk to. "What are we looking for?" She asked as I led us into the woods. I hefted the shotgun full of rocksalt ammo in my right hand, while lighting the way with my flash-light from the other. Dean had disappeared into the woods, not stopping for us to follow when he'd left the cabin.

"Greeley's house," I said in response to her question. "Maybe he's buried there. Look for roads or paths, or something. Stay close."

"Yeah, ok," Molly said with a short nod. I wandered further into the treeline, there looked to be a path up ahead, but I couldn't be sure unless I got closer. It wasn't until she was completely gone that I realised Molly had turned and walked in another direction.

"David? David?!" I heard Molly call out in the distance. I cursed and headed back in the direction I had come. There was a scream suddenly and it got me running.

I rushed through the trees in the direction of the scream, ducking under tree branches and listening for something else to give away her position. There was a gun shot and I realised Dean must have reached her, I followed the sound of the shot and reached a clearing where Molly was standing, looking over at Dean.

"Hey! Are you all right?" I asked, breaking to a stop in front of her.

"What has that son of a bitch done with my husband?" She asked breathlessly.

"Just take it easy, all right?" I said, stopping to catch my breath. "You're gonna see David again, all right? You will." I promised her, and she nodded – looking into my eyes, taking that promise to heart.

I spun around to look at Dean, he was shining his light out into the underbrush ahead of us. He turned back to look at me, and gestured in the direction of the light with his head. "Hey," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Follow the creepy brick road." I saw it then, a crudely cut path from bricks that led into the woods.

"Go ahead," I said to Molly, indicating she should follow Dean. I brought up the rear, casting a wary look around behind us.

"How do you shoot a ghost?" Molly asked, and I chuckled at the question, it was fair.

"They're not real bullets, it's rock salt. Plain salt keeps away spirits. Simple remedies are always the best. In most cultures, salt is a symbol of purity, so it repels impure and unnatural things. Same reason you throw it over your shoulder." I was rambling, but it was cold, and dark, and Dean was being all silent. It felt good to talk to someone since Dean was in a strange mood. We rounded a corner and Dean stopped short in front of us with a sigh.

"You know, just once I'd like to round the corner and see a nice house," he complained. I looked ahead and grimaced my agreement. The house was a two storey farm house, a door and two windows at the front, weatherboard and beaten looking. It was covered in vines and old growth from years of neglect.

Dean looked around the outside of the house, and I decided to tackle the inside, entering through the unlocked door. We found ourselves in the living room, it was still furnished after all these years. I always found it fascinating how people just abandoned houses full of things. Like there was nowhere for them to go. It would make sense, maybe, if Greeley hadn't had a wife, but what had she done after he was buried? Why had she left all this stuff? For someone used to not having things, it seemed natural to travel light, but the reality was that most people didn't live like us, and so it must have been some powerful grief to just abandon everything as it stood.

After a few minutes Dean rejoined us, casting a look around the furnished room, he seemed as curious about it as I was.

"Any headstones outside?" I asked him, he looked at me and snorted.

"Yeah, right. Is it ever that easy?" He asked, shaking his head and putting the duffel bag full of weapons on the couch. I sighed and looked at him.

"I guess not," I answered quietly. Dean pushed past me and into the kitchen, looking around. His light illuminated a stair case leading up, and he turned to look at me.

"You two check upstairs," Dean instructed. "See if you can find any notes or records telling us where he's buried. I'll just check down here." I nodded, crossing the room with a frown on my face. I was curious as to Dean's sudden distance.

Molly followed me up the stairs, they creaked ominously under us and I prayed that they weren't about to give way under us.

The first room we came to had been used as an office, by the looks of it. It had the papers we wanted, but they were strewn all over the floor in no particular order. "Great," I muttered, squatting to rummage through the papers. Molly had wandered over to the window and was flipping through an old photo album.

"Look at this," she said, sitting down on the bed across the other side of the room. I stood up and joined her. "It's Greeley and his wife," she commented. I turned a couple of pages, looking over her shoulder. The couple looked happy together, arms wrapped around each other in a loving embrace. I stopped and thought about how it would feel to lose someone you cared about so much, the despair you'd be in. I thought about how I'd feel if anything happened to Dean like had happened to Greeley, and I closed mye yes, willing the image away. There was an old handwritten letter on one of the pages and Molly stopped to read it, tears coming into her eyes.

"It's a love letter he wrote her. My god, it's beautiful." She sat back, looking up from the album and taking a shaky breath. "I don't understand how a guy like this can turn into that monster," Molly said, staring back at the album.

I sighed, and thought about it. "Spirits like Greeley are, uh... like wounded animals. Lost. In so much pain that they lash out."

"Why? Why are they here?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Well..." I said, again choosing my words carefully. "There's some part of them that... that's keeping them here. Like their remains, or … sometimes unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?" Molly asked, with a confused look.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. "Uh, it could be revenge. Could be love. Or hate. Whatever it is, they just hold on too tight. Can't let go. So they're trapped, caught in the same loops, replaying the same tragedies over and over."

"You sound almost sorry for them," she said to me. I smiled sadly.

"Well, they weren't evil people you know? A lot of them were good. Just... something happened to them. Something they couldn't control." I thought about that, and my life. How on a similar level, mine was the same, there was always some kind of bad thing outside of my control, taking whatever I held near and dear to me.

Dean cleared his throat and I looked up to see him standing in the doorway. "Beth's always getting a little J. Love Hewitt when it comes to things like this. Me, I don't like 'em," he said to Molly. "And I sure as hell ain't making apologies for 'em." He paused and I sighed, sometimes he could be too stubborn for his own good. "There's nothing downstairs, you find anything?" Dean asked, looking at me again.

"Uh, well we have just about every piece of mail or receipt they ever had. Looked through a couple but nothing about a grave so far," I said, gesturing to the papers. Dean frowned and started looking around the room, something caught his eye and he walked with a purpose toward it.

"What?" I asked, getting up from the bed.

"There's something behind here," Dean commented, pointing to a cabinet that was half pushed out from the wall. "Here," he said tossing his flash-light to me. He moved moved the cabinet aside, revealing a small hidden door. Dean gave it a push, it didn't move. "It's locked from the inside," he said.

Standing, Dean turned to face us and then kicked back at the door, trying to open it, the door didn't budge. Dean looked surprised, then braced himself, this time kicking harder. The door fell inward with a loud bang.

"Smells like old lady in here," Dean muttered, ducking and going first through the door. I crawled after him and braced my hands against his hips, pulling myself up into the small contained space. I fought off the usual panic attack, having totally forgotten in the moment how much I hated enclosed spaces. Dean looked at me when I involuntarily squeezed his hips against the panic attack, then glanced back around the room. It was a crawl space in the ceiling, almost like an attic. Thankfully, it opened up into a larger room beyond, and Dean headed in that direction.

"And that would explain why," Dean said. I followed him, looking up and hanging from the ceiling was a corpse, old and deteriorated. I swallowed and felt a little tug at my heart. Molly gasped at the sight from behind us. "Well, now we know why nobody saw her again," Dean finished.

I nodded. "And why the house looks like it was just abandoned."

"She couldn't live without him," Molly said sadly. I was moving toward the corpse. I knew exactly what I had to do. There was a chair in the little hidden room, the one she'd used to stand on before kicking it away. I stood it up and looked up at the body.

"Dean, give me a hand." I said to him.

"Really?" Dean asked, though he shouldn't have been surprised. I gaped at him.

"What are you gonna do?" Molly asked, confused.

"We can't leave her like this," I said with a frown, she deserved to be put in the ground, buried properly. No one deserved this.

"Why not?" Dean asked, looking at me with tired eyes. I sighed and turned to him.

"Really Dean? Really?" I asked. "God you never fail to surprise me sometimes. She deserves to be put to rest!" I crossed over to him, hunting through his pockets and coming out with his pocketknife.

"Now help me," I said to him, stern eyes meeting his. He nodded slightly and gave me a bit of a chagrined smile before kissing me on the forehead.

Dean took the pocketknife from me and walked over to the body, stepping up on the chair he balanced effortlessly, reaching up to start sawing at the rope around her neck. I braced myself under the body, steadying it as it swayed from the cutting Dean was doing. The body fell down to me, Dean steadied it a little and then took it out of my arms, taking it with him outside.

Molly and I followed. I found a couple of shovels by the house and brought it with us, starting to dig a grave. We quickly dug until there was a deep enough hole to bury the body. Time was running out, I knew it, sunrise was on its way, but this was important – it needed to be done.

"So... so if you manage to put Greeley to rest too... what happens to them?" Molly asked, watching all this with a curious look.

"Lady, that answer is way beyond our pay grade," Dean said with a smirk.

"You hunt these things, but you don't know what happens to them?" She asked, surprised.

"Well, they never come back. That's all that matters," Dean said in his usual matter-of-fact voice, starting to cover over the corpse with the freshly dug up dirt. The simplicity he saw things with sometimes just boggled the mind.

I looked at Molly, I'd asked myself these questions a thousand times. "After they let go of whatever's keeping them here, they... they just go. I hope someplace better, but we don't know. No one does."

"What happens when you burn their bones?" Molly asked, still full of questions.

"Well, Dad used to say that was like death for ghosts, you know? But... the truth is, we still don't know. Not for sure." I looked at Dean, he was silent again, working away at filling the grave. "Guess that's why we all hold on to life so hard. Even the dead. We're all just scared of the unknown."

Molly looked thoughtful. "The only thing I'm scared of is losing David. I have to see him again. I have to." I nodded, I could relate. I looked at Dean again and fought back those familiar fears that sat with us every day – most people didn't have to deal with real fears of death or worse on a regular basis, the chances of them losing someone they loved didn't occur every week. It did with us, it was always there. I shoved the fear deep, not wanting to look at it, instead I resumed digging alongside Dean.

Molly looked sadly on, struggling to keep her emotions in check. I watched her, admiring her restraint, not sure I'd be quite so with it if the situation we reversed. "I have to..." she said softly to herself, and I understood, I knew why she was holding on so tightly.

* * *

_**Greeley's House**_

After the grave was finished, we went back into the house. Molly was sitting at the kitchen table, looking at the photo album we'd found earlier. I was with Dean in the living room. We were watching her, and looking out for Greeley.

I turned to Dean, conflicted. "I think we should tell her about her husband." I said to him finally.

"We can't," Dean said shortly, staring out the window – he sounded so dark and serious.

"Dean, it's cruel, letting her pine for him like this. I don't like keeping her in the dark." I said, watching her. I put myself in her place and I felt nothing but sadness.

"It's for her own good," Dean said, looking over his shoulder at me. Seeing the conflicted look in my eyes he sighed and stood up to face me, cupping my cheek in one hand. "I know you feel guilty," he said in a gentler tone. "But let's just stick to the plan. Let's get her out of here. Then we'll tell her." I stared into his eyes and I saw a softness there which he'd been trying to hide, it filled me with a sense of relief. Dean was scary sometimes when he got caught up in a job. Sometimes it made me think he had no emotions at all, which was so stark in contrast to what he showed me behind closed doors.

Molly heard the last part of the conversation and stalked into the room. "Tell me what? What aren't you telling me?" She looked between the two of us as we pulled apart to face her. "It's about David. You know what happened to him."

"Molly..." I started, wanting to tell her.

"Beth, don't." Dean ordered me and I sighed, falling silent.

"Don't what?" Molly asked, turning on Dean. "Don't tell me because I'll mess up your hunt? You don't care about me or my husband!"

"That's not true," I said to her, shaking my head.

"Really? Then whatever it is, tell me, please." She said, her eyes begging. I opened my mouth but any words I might have said were drained out by the song _House of the Rising Sun _beginning to play from an undetermined place. "He's coming," Molly whispered, frightened.

"Stay with her..." Dean said to me, and he cautiously moved toward the kitchen where the music was coming from.

I was looking around for any sign of Greeley, conscious that he could appear at any moment. Dean had been gone a couple of minutes and there was no sound from anywhere other than the song which seemed to be quite creepy now I associated it with a ghost encounter.

"Dean?" I called out, but there was no response. I swallowed and took a few steps toward the kitchen, hesitating as to whether or not I should go and check on him, or stay with Molly.

Suddenly there was the sound of breaking glass and I looked back to see the window Molly was standing in front of cave in, a couple of arms grabbed Molly and pulling her out through the now empty frame.

"Dean! He's got Molly!" I yelled as I jumped up on to the window sill, and dropped to the ground below. Dean was hot on my heels and we gave chase into the woods. I pushed myself as fast as I could go in the dark woods, hitting branches and jumping over fallen logs. It was useless, we had lost them. Dean stood panting next to me and I looked at him resigned.

"This guy is persistent," He said to me, turning us back the way we'd come.

"We have to find her Dean," I said, catching my breath.

"We have to find Greeley's bones," Dean said to me with a stern look. "And, uh, no pressure or anything, but we have less than two hours before sunrise," he said, looking at his watch and they glancing out the window.

We'd reached the house and I was drawn to the photo album on the table. It was open to the photo of Greeley and his wife in front of the hunting cabin, taken many years ago.

"Hey," I said, catching Dean's attention.

"What have you got?" Dean asked, coming to my side. I resisted the urge to step into him, to feel his body pressed against my side, he was still here, and he was ok. I don't know why I was feeling so afraid to lose him all of a sudden. Then it hit me, I was feeling, something, anything... for the first time in a long time. I suddenly wasn't sure what was worse.

"Beth?" Dean asked, looking at me worriedly. I pulled myself back to the moment and looked down at the photo again.

"Uh... February 6, 1992" I said, reading the caption.

"That was like two weeks before the accident, wasn't it?" Dean asked, looking over my shoulder.

"Yeah. It looks like the hunting cabin, but … I swear there's a tree there right where they're standing now." I stopped, and the realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks. I started, looking up. "I should have thought of it before now." I said looking at Dean.

"What?" Dean asked.

"It's an old country custom. Planting a tree as a grave marker." I said, pointing to the spot where they were standing in the photo. The tree that I'd seen earlier, that was Greeley's grave.

Dean looked at me in wonder. "You're like a walking encyclopaedia of weirdness, you know that?" He said with a grin.

"Yeah, I know," I responded with a smile, kissing him on the cheek. "Come on, let's go."

It didn't take us long at a jog to get back to the hunting cabin. The piercing screams of Molly broke through the night as we approached from the outside, carrying the shovels we'd found earlier. We looked through the window and saw Molly tied to the ceiling of the cabin, Greeley was in there with her, circling her like a shark hunting its prey.

"Go get Molly," I said to Dean, he nodded at me and headed for the door. I began to dig around the tree which marked Greeley's grave. There was the sound of the shotgun going off and then silence as I kept digging at the tree base.

I could hear almost everything going on inside of the cabin, and it was starting to freak me out a little, but I had a job to do and I needed to get at these bones. The soil was compacted, and tree roots slowed down the pace, but I threw my weight into the digging. I looked up as I heard Dean cry out and the sound of him being propelled against the wall. I realised we were running out of time.

I dug frantically, praying for a miracle, and then felt my shovel hit something hard. I pulled back, scrambling down and feeling around with my hands. It was a skull. I grabbed the shovel and gave thanks for small mercies, Greeley's wife had only buried him shallowly, I was surprised there were any bones left to find – apparently no animals had gotten to him.

The grave didn't take long to uncover and I heard Dean yell from inside. "Hurry up Beth!"

I could see all the bones now, the first thing to go in on top of them was the salt, I dumped it all on top of the bones. Then the gasoline as I focused on the task at hand and not the sound of Dean grunting as he fought off his attacker. As soon as I'd dumped the gasoline on the bones I picked up a box of matches, lighting one and dropping it in.

The bones ignited with a whoosh and burst into flame. There was the sound of a man screaming in pain, and I ran inside after Dean. Greeley's spirit was flailing around in the middle of the room on fire, and he screamed one more time before disintegrating before us, a sharp and deadly knife falling from his hand to clatter against the floor. Dean was against the wall, breathing hard with a bloody gash along his cheek. I ran to him and checked him over, fussing. Molly was crying with relief as she hung from the ceiling.

* * *

_**Highway 41**_

Dean looked relieved to see the car when we reached it. He put out his hand to pat it lovingly, smiling at me. "Oh baby, it's been a long night," he said. I raised an eyebrow.

"You talking to me or the car?" I asked with a smirk, and he chuckled, but didn't actually answer me, choosing to instead dump the duffel bag in the back seat before climbing into the driver's seat with a long groan. I opened the door to the back seat for Molly and she looked at me hesitantly.

"Let's get you out of here," I said to her. She shook her head at me.

"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what happened to my husband," she said stubbornly.

"Molly..." I said, finding it hard to get the words out.

"All this time I've been looking for him, and you knew that... you knew that Greeley killed him, didn't you?" She asked, looking at me with tears in her eyes. "He's dead."

My heart ached at the look in her eyes, and I shook my head sadly at her. "No, Molly. David's alive." I said to her gently. Her eyes lit up at the sound of those words.

"What? You're sure?" She asked excitedly with a smile.

"I'm sure. We'll take you to him. Come on." I climbed into my own spot, riding shotgun to Dean. Molly was grinning as she got in the back, I wondered how long that was going to last.

Not an hour later we pulled up in front of a nice surburban home. It was just before dawn, but the occupants were up, the lights on and showing us a scene inside. It had been raining as we drove into town, the beads of rain still glittered on the surface of the Impala, and everything seemed just a little more clearer.

"He's in that house right there," I said to Molly as we came to a stop.

"I don't understand," she said to us, looking over at the house confused.

"You will." I said softly, exchanging a knowing look with Dean who looked tired. I got out of the car, the other two following my lead. Molly excitedly cross the road and walked quickly up to the window. She stopped short when she saw David in a bathrobe at the kitchen counter, making a cup of coffee. He would be older than she remembered.

"That's not... it can't be." She said, stuttering. Another woman came out wearing a bathrobe and kissed David on the lips. "What's happening?" Molly asked, looking at us confused. "Who is that?"

"That's David's wife." I said softly, looking at Molly with sad eyes. "I'm sorry, Molly. Fifteen years ago, you and your husband hit Jonah Greeley with your car. David survived."

"What are you saying?" Molly asked, a startled look in her eyes.

"We're saying there isn't just one spirit haunting Highway 41," Dean said, this time his voice had taken on a softer tone. "There are two. Jonah Greeley, and you."

"For the past fifteen years, one night a year you've been appearing on that highway," I said to her.

"No, that's not possible. It was our anniversary... February 22nd..."

"1992," I supplied her with the year she was thinking and she nodded.

"Molly, it's 2007." Dean said to her.

"Oh, god." Molly replied, looking at us in shock. "And Greeley?"

"Each year he punishes somebody for his death...chasing them. Torturing them. And each year, that somebody is you." I said to her.

"But I don't remember any of it." Molly said confused.

"Because you couldn't see the truth, Molly." I pushed just a little further, it was time now.

"So that's why he won't let me off the highway. Because I... I killed him. I killed us both." And there it was. For the first time fifteen years Molly was seeing something beyond the horror that had blanketed her that night. For the first time she was going to get a chance to crawl out of the dark.

Molly sat down on the curb, looking up at us. "Why didn't you tell me when you first saw me? Why wait until now?"

"You wouldn't have believed us," Dean said to her. She looked at him suspiciously.

"And you needed me for bait," she said, her eyes narrowing at Dean.

"Well, we needed you," I said to her, pulling her attention back to why we were here.

"David." Molly said.

"Molly, we brought you here so you could move on." I said gently, hoping she could do so now she could see the truth.

"I have to tell him," Molly said.

"Tell him what? That you love him? That you're sorry? Molly, he already knows that." I said, looking at her. "Look, if you want to go in there, we're not going to stop you."

"Yeah, but you are going to freak him right out. For life," Dean said, raising an eyebrow.

"David's already said his goodbyes, Molly. Now it's your turn. This is your unfinished business." I said, reminding her of the conversation we'd had earlier.

"What am I supposed to do?" Molly whispered, tears running down her face.

"Just... let go. Of David. Of everything. You do that...we think you'll move on." I said.

"But you don't know where?" Molly asked.

"No. But Molly, you don't belong here. Haven't you suffered long enough? It's time. It's time to go." I said once more.

Molly nodded sadly, casting one last glance at the house before standing up and walking slowly walking away. She turned her face upward as the first light of dawn shone over the rooftops of the houses. She was suddenly bathed in light, and just like that, she vanished.

Dean stared for a long moment, quiet, then turned to me. "I guess she wasn't so bad... for a ghost. You think she's really going to a better place?"

I slipped my arm around his waist, pulling him tightly against me, relishing the heat that passed from his body into my cold and weary muscles. "I hope so," I said honestly, tentatively touching the cut along his face and grimacing.

He reached up and brushed a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face. "I guess we'll never know. Not until we take the plunge ourselves, huh?"

"Doesn't really matter, Dean. I think hope is kind of the whole point." I said quietly, looking up at the sun now creeping over the horizon. I felt sad, all the anguish of the last month or more starting to creep up on me. Dean wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close.

"I hope we don't have to take that plunge for a long, long time. I don't know what I'd do Dean," I sighed into his chest, holding him tightly against me.

"Yeah, me too." Dean said quietly, kissing the top of my head. We stood like this for a while, silent. A light rain started to fall, drizzling down on top of us. Dean pulled back with a groan and gave me a playful smack on the ass. "All right, Haley Joel. Let's hit the road," he said and opened the passenger door of the car for me. I climbed in with a smile, and watched out the window while he joined me, taking up his spot in the driver's seat.

"You know I bet by lunch time we could be at that little Bed and Breakfast in Green River that you like so much., you could get yourself one of Eleanor's Monte Carlo sandwiches... best in the country?" Dean said randomly, looking over at me. I mustered up a smile and nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds really good." I said, looking over at him. He looked tired, as if he'd been carrying a heavy burden for some time and it was finally starting to get the better of him. It occurred to me that it was probably me, and the way I'd been in the month since we lost the baby that was causing the strain, and I felt my heart ache. In all my grief, there hadn't really been time for Dean to work through his own – not that he tended to do that. Maybe a couple of days in Green River would do us the world of good.

Sliding across the bench seat, I snuggled in against him as he started up the Impala, and pulled away from the curb. He wrapped one arm around me, keeping the other on the wheel, and I leaned against him, head on his shoulder.

* * *

_**Bobby's House  
Sioux Falls, South Dakota**_

_**5 days later**_

Apparently Sam had been waiting anxiously for us to return in the week we had been gone. He looked a lot better than he had the day we'd left, but then I'd tried to beat him to a pulp that day; now he looked refreshed and rested, a renewed spring in his step.

Dean and I were feeling a lot better too, having stopped for a few days in Green River to reconnect with each other and just rest. We'd needed it, we'd probably needed it weeks ago, but I hadn't been ready. Not for the first time in my short life as a hunter did I look at the supernatural world and consider just how much it made me think about my life, and start to value it a bit more.

I'd been delaying the inevitable, but the next morning after we'd arrived back at Bobby's I dressed early, pulling on my favourite pair of jeans, one of Sam's old hoodies he'd since discarded, and some tennis shoes. Dean and I were staying in Cole's old room – which was located in the converted attic, so I was careful to take the stairs quietly as I didn't want to wake up Bobby or Sam as I crept down to the main part of the house.

I crossed quietly to the front door, letting myself out into the early morning light. The sun was just starting to peep over the horizon and I stretched, stifling a yawn as I bounced down the stairs, heading toward the back of the car yard. My steps faltered a little as I saw the garage-turned-gym and I almost gave in to the need to run and never look at the damage I had done.

Stopping, I deep a few deep breathing exercises and then steeled myself, making up my mind to face the consequences of my actions. I renewed my pace, walking toward the gym, and rounded the corner to the angel garden... only to find that all the angels, broken and lost to me in my fit of rage, were gone.

I stopped, confused, looking around. There was a new garden now, clean and pristine. A beautiful Magnolia tree was planted in the middle of where my angels had once stood. A wooden bench with wrought iron sides in fancy filigree work sat under the tree. There were beautiful terracotta planters spaced around the area, housing a range of flowers that shone brightly in the morning light. I was floored by the sight.

There was one final touch, a single statue which seemed strange to my eyes given the sheer volume of angels that had been there not even a week ago. Nestled among the flowers in one of the planter boxes under the tree was a garden ornament of a little baby, wrapped in angel wings. I felt my breath catch at the sight of this little wonder, reaching out to run my fingers along the belly of the baby. A small plaque was attached to the side of the planter, it read simply _Patrick Dean Winchester – born sleeping January 15, 2007. In the arms of the angels._

I chewed on my lip, fighting back the tears that so wanted to fall. I turned around, marvelling at the transformation of the area, it was a real little garden now, not a shrine to angels.

"Do you like it?" Sam's voice sounded tentatively from the side of the gym. I looked up to see him watching me, a vulnerability in his eyes that belied the casualness of his stance.

I nodded with a small smile, waving my hand in the air gesturing to all of it. "It's beautiful..." I said, a couple of tears escaping from my eyes. "But you didn't have to do this Sammy," I said.

"Yes I did," Sam said, an anguished look on his face. He crossed over to me, and sat on the bench, pulling me down beside him.

"I'm sorry Beth," he said, holding my hands. "For everything."

"I know you are Sammy," I said quietly, mustering up a smile for him. Sam would always be that little thirteen year old kid to me, just as he was that little baby to Dean, the one he'd carried out of the fire twenty-four years ago.

I thought about Molly, and everything she'd put herself through, holding on to the past and the life that had left her in it's wake. I reached up and brushed a piece of hair behind Sam's ear, looking him in those big brown eyes.

"We can't change the past Sam. Nor does it benefit us by living in it either." I said, I'd been giving this a lot of thought in the last few days at Green River. "I don't blame you, not for a minute, even though I know it must have seemed like it this last month."

Sam sighed and nodded at me. "If I'd been strong enough..." he started but I silenced it with a couple of fingers to his mouth, shaking my head.

"Don't go there Sam, you think I haven't said the same thing to myself the last ten years about my dad?" He nodded slowly. "It doesn't change anything. You'll always carry it with you. But you can't blame yourself all the time, seeking to rectify something that was out of your control."

"Tell me about the tree," I said to him, changing the subject and looking up.

"Uh... well, it's a Pink Magnolia," Sam said, his brow furrowing at the sudden move to a different topic. Pink magnolias represent youth and innocence together with joy." I smiled and nodded at the symbolism, it was perfect.

"Thank you," I said softly, squeezing his hands in my own.

"Holy..." Dean's surprised voice startled us and we looked up to see him standing at the corner of the shed, staring at the scene before him. "Well I thought you might be here..." he said to me, running a hand through his bed tousled hair. "But I sure wasn't expecting this."

I smiled and stood up, crossing to him for a cuddle. After a moment I pulled him over to the tree, to see the baby statue, and the plaque. He took it all in silently, tears just under the surface of those beautiful green eyes. Sam watched us closely, still sitting on the bench and letting us have our moment together.

Dean turned and grabbed Sam by the shoulder of his jacket, pulling him to his feet and into a group hug, squeezing us both tightly to him. Nothing had to be said, the hug said it all.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is _Ballerina _by Leona Naess. I recently saw it on the episode on _Weeds _where Jeffrey Dean Morgan guest starred. It's probably one of the most beautiful and saddening scenes I've seen in a long time. The song isn't about a miscarriage/stillbirth, but it's still haunting in it's beauty. It's perfect for this episode.

* * *

So I just want to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review or PM me – always awesome to hear from readers :D I hope you enjoy this episode too! Please keep doing so as it puts a big smile on my silly face and makes me want to keep trekking along in all my fangirl squealdom as I rewrite SPN history LOL

* * *

A big thank you goes out to my partner in crime, Ms EarthhAngel who I've been working collaboratively with to write some fun loving fan fic around the Winchester and Singer clans. Beth features, in fact, if you like Beth I recommend going on over to EA's fanfic _How To Save A Life _and checking the story out, you'll get a fun look into Dean and Beth 1-2 months before their relationship went serious, so there's a bit of angst, a bit of clandestine sneaking about, and definitely some drama! The latest chapter just has me chuckling away as we read about Beth's 21st birthday bash that just goes terribly wrong. Do take the time to check it out, I daresay you'll enjoy it if you like my – EA keeps me honest by proofreading my writing and helping me bounce ideas around – she's on hiatus for the next 10 or so days, so any mistakes during that time are fully my own!

* * *

I'm going to be posting a few little one-shot shorter pieces in between the big episodes as I see fit. This has been on my mind for a while, as I like to keep the updates coming fairly quickly (ideally I'd like to have one up at least every second day) but I have been pretty busy IRL too, so it can take me a while to get to completion with the big episodes. So my thoughts are that I'm going to try put in a few mini-updates which could be any and everything, whatever's on my mind! Some will be journal entries from Beth's past (and maybe Dean's as a contrast) , some flashbacks to things they've done, some little side stories to flesh out what else is out there. I'm looking forward to it and I hope you enjoy it – let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions!

* * *

There'll be a flashback coming up soon – probably pre-relationship, though it might be early relationship Dean & Beth too... I haven't decided yet. Either way, it'll be fun :)

* * *

Annnnd... I've got to stop watching SPN Comic Con videos on YouTube LOL

Speaking of videos – are there any talented video people out there who would be interested in doing some Dean & Beth or John & Cole videos at some point? I would LOVE to do some, but I have no skills in this. If you're interested and know what you're doing in that area, let's talk! :D

* * *

OK I'm sure there were other things I wanted to say, can't think of them right now. Going to post this and get some sleep! Enjoy :D Please review!

* * *

By the way - is anyone interested in seeing some more of Jefferson? I'm thinking of doing a flashback with him in it! :D Let me know!


	18. Run To Me (mini-chapter)

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE:_**_ A short one, set directly after '_Roadkill' _Please let me know what you think! Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

_Over your head,  
Trying not to drown.  
Reaching for a breath,  
Before it drags you down.  
Caught in between,  
All the pain you feel,  
You lost control,  
You're letting go,  
But I never will._

* * *

**RUN TO ME**

* * *

_**Beth's Diary Entry – 25**__**th**__** February 2007 (Green River, WY)**_

_Dean and I worked a job down in Nevada on Highway 41 this week. Two spirits trapped in a never-ending repeat, appearing once a year on the anniversary of their deaths. He taking out his anger on her for killing him in the accident, she not even realising she was dead. __This other spirit was in so much pain all he wanted to do was make her suffer, torturing her to death every anniversary. It took putting him to rest, and then showing her that she had unfinished business before she could move on. Strangely enough, the same could be said for me. __ Somewhere in the aftermath of baby Patrick's death I forgot to go on living._

_Greeley's wife killed herself when she lost him. How far in love would you have to be for it to hurt so much you couldn't go on? I don't even want to think about it. Thinking about it just makes it real, and when we face life and death almost every week, feelings like that can be incapacitating. If we'd known then what we know now, would I have not gone on hunts with the boys? Would I have never taken up this life to begin with? Would I have pushed Dean away, could I have? No._

_I look back on all these years and think there is no escaping this – this is fate, this is life, and this is where we were headed before we even knew it. Sometimes I believe in fate, in destiny, sometimes I think it's just random, or someone's idea of a sick twisted joke._

_It makes me wonder about Dad. I don't talk about this with Dean or Sam, because at the end of the day it's all my fault. I should have done something more. I should have let Dean go, I should have convinced Dad to let him go. I should have given my own soul for him. What is that demon doing to him down there? How many nights will he suffer torture, pain? Will he eventually become so twisted he becomes a demon too? I wish I could reach out and sense him, I wish there was more to this twisted demonic radar I have which is barely even useful. _

_When it all gets too much to consider, I try to focus on other things. I wonder if a visit to Missouri would help, but then again, I'm not sure I want to know the truth. It's easier to shut out the screaming inside my head when I can still deny it to myself.  
_

_So it's been a long month, 6 weeks actually, as of tomorrow. It doesn't seem all that long when you put it that way, but to me it's been a lifetime. Is it just me or does time seem to be speeding up? It's almost as if we're been corralled into a tunnel and pushed toward an ending we can't see. Whatever the case, we took some time to breathe, Dean and I, in Green River. We've needed it. Dean looked tired, as if he'd been carrying this burden for the two of us. I was starting to wonder if the struggle was worth it. _

_Then I think about Sam and I know of course it is. This is our baby brother, and we promised to keep him safe. Dean is always his usual pragmatic self, holding it together for the rest of us. It kind of makes me worry more about him I think, because at least I know Sam will talk when he needs to. So Green River has been good for us. We'd planned to stay for a night, we ended up here for three – a bridge got washed out with a torrential downpour and we've been stranded; we leave in the morning, we've been told of another way around. I think Dean liked having the excuse to stay a little bit longer._

_We've been through so many things together, highs and lows, wins and losses. He's been nothing but patient with me as I walk around like the living dead. The truth of that hit home with me the first night we got here, and I realised I'd not only been denying myself the chance to feel comforted in his arms, I was denying him too. First step back toward living: feel, feel something, feel anything. First I felt anger, despair...all over the baby, over life. Then I felt fear; fear that I might lose Dean and that would break me. It's still there, that isn't ever going away. Whatever. At least we're together, as we face the next step. Dean looks younger, happier, and it makes me smile, he always makes me smile._

* * *

_I'm holding on for you,  
I'm fighting for your life.  
And when you're blinded by this jaded world,  
I'll be your eyes.  
Even if you fall,  
I won't let you break.  
When all the noise is telling you  
To run away,  
Run to me._

_**Two days earlier **_

Rain was falling against the window with a fierce patter, the downpour bringing the world outside to a standstill. We would be here for a few days while this passed, the bridge was washed out and there was nowhere to go. The bed and breakfast room was cheerful; crisp whites and yellows brightening up the dull afternoon.

I sighed softly at the playful touch of Dean's kisses against my skin. We had locked ourselves away as soon as we arrived, and now I sat in his lap on the Queen Anne couch, a quilt pulled around our naked bodies. For the last hour we'd done nothing more than touch each other like children discovering pleasure for the first time, I shivered as his fingertips danced along my shoulder blade, dragging so softly it was almost unbearable.

Dean handled me like a startled rabbit, as if I might up and run at any moment. Several times I fought down the urge to back out, to retreat to the safety of the inner turmoil and darkness, instead of stepping into this new unknown world. He licked along my collar bone in a long singular stroke, following with a soft, lingering breath which had my skin standing up in goose-bumps. I gasped at the sensitivity and felt the hot wet readiness trickle between my legs; he lured me in with a gentleness I hadn't experienced in a very long time, time constraints and pure lust usually driving us at a faster pace.

Splaying his hand across my stomach, I felt hot fingers dip lower, tentatively exploring, seeking permission and I moaned into his kisses, pushing his hand to the centre of me, his fingers finding that hot pool of liquid ready and waiting. He groaned, slipping a finger along my clit and I arched against his hand, quivering.

I shifted as he slowly dragged an index finger along me, moving to straddle him, sliding over his hard and pressing need below me. I sat a little back, not ready, my breath catching in my throat with a small sob. Dean patiently pulled me in to him, kissing along my breasts, and up to my neck, nuzzling just under my earlobe. He breathed into my skin and I matched his soft sighs, as if he were breathing for the two of us.

I rode upon the delicious wave of kisses as he ran his hands into my hair, massaging my scalp and then taking fistfuls of my thick dark hair and tugging on it, the pure sensory overload from our bodies pressed together coupled with the firmness of his hands was lulling me into a cocoon, and I just wanted to feel him inside me, filling me up in every way. He was a part of me that I'd denied for too long. Another short sob escaped my lips as I forlornly thought about how I'd pushed him away when I lost Patrick, and it was as if for the last month and a half I'd been walking around missing a limb, thinking it was still there, like a phantom.

Dean claimed my lips, kissing away the sob and murmured comfortingly while he held my head in place; I shuddered at the feeling of his fingers entangled in my hair, the certainty of his hands pushing back against my arching. I tentatively dragged my wetness along his arousal, hearing his sharp intake of breath catch in his throat. I hesitated and bit my lip, trying to match the pain I knew I was going to feel.

His eyes bled to concern as he watched me reach that decision, I felt like it was my first time all over again. Gently I lowered myself over his familiar pulsing shaft. I held my breath, watching Dean's expression turn hungry as I gripped him, then inched my way down his entire length with a sigh. The pain I was expecting never came, I gave a couple of tentative rocks, arching at the feel of him stretching me, opening me up. It drew sobs of relief from my lips, and mistaking it for something else Dean reached to hold my face, peering into my eyes.

"You want to stop?" He said softly and I shook my head. Dean grinned at me. "Thank god for that," he groaned, claiming my lips hungrily.

Sliding his hands under my buttocks, Dean lifted us off the couch, walking to the bed where he laid us on the soft downy comforter. His full weight blanketed me, and I moaned at the completeness of having him locked against me, arching to meet his hips. He drove into me ever so slowly, keeping himself fully sheathed inside and allowing the friction of our bodies to drive us to a bursting point, like a geyser about to blow.

My breath hitched in short, startled bursts as he drove himself into me in long, torturous strokes, going so deep. He hovered his mouth over mine and whispered "I love you," and I felt tears trail from my eyes. He never said that, not like this, I could count the times he'd said those exact words to me on one hand. I was speechless, arching my body in response.

Our kisses became urgent, his breaking away to slide along my body as he sucked at the skin above my breasts, across my collar bone to my shoulder, groaning as his body started to shudder. "Unh, Dean..." I whispered, raking my nails along his contoured back and up his neck where I buried my fingers in his short hair, clasping him to me. He groaned loudly into my shoulder, biting down, pushing my senses into overload.

I arched urgently to meet his body, my breath quickening, and I felt his body start to quiver in long, rolling waves above me, carrying me with him. It didn't happen all the time, finding our peak together, but when it did it was like watching the flames of a fire catch, consuming the kindling and flaring to a searing heat. Our breaths locked in unison and I gasped for air as the tremors passed from him to me. I heard him cry out with a primal release meeting my own moans, collapsing heavily into me as I felt the flames of my own orgasm consume me.

Melting into the bed I pulled him close, the sheer joy that flooded through me brought a laugh to my throat and it fell from me as I wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips to mine for a slow exhausted kiss. We were us again, and I could feel; not only the darkness, the anger, the despair. I was feeling all the other emotions again too. I lay there, seeing them reflected in Dean's eyes. I felt loved. Happy. Whole. I was home.

Dean watched me with a silly grin on his face and it made me smile. He always made me smile. Then he kissed me again languidly, his fingers tracing soft, interlocking circles down my body as he turned me to my side, his entire body pressed along the length of me. I giggled when I felt the blood return to his member, thinking about the first time I'd ever felt that hardness against my back.

"What are you laughing at?" Dean asked me, and I turned to face him with a silly grin of my own.

"Just thinking about Philadelphia, and that morning..." I said, raising my eyebrow.

"Ahhh," Dean said, recalling it with a cheeky grin, licking his lips. He started to kiss along my shoulder again, and chuckled himself. "God you looked terrible with blonde hair," he said and I laughed. It was so true.

"You want to know what I wanted to do to you that morning?" He asked and I licked my lips and nodded. He moaned a little as he kissed me slowly, then pulled back with another hungry look. "Strap yourself in then, we're gonna be here a while..." I groaned at the thought, eager and willing. My body was going to hurt in the morning, but it was so going to be worth it. We had nowhere else we had to be, and there was no where else I'd rather be than here.

* * *

_Day after day,  
After all you seen,  
Its alright if you feel like unraveling.  
I'll be right here.  
I'm pushing out the walls,  
To find the place,  
Where you can say,  
Brave through it all._

_**Dean's Diary Entry – 25**__**th**__** February 2007 (Green River, WY)**_

_So we put down a couple of ghosts on Highway 41 in Nevada this week. Just Beth and me, we left Sammy at Bobby's because she had a freaking meltdown and wailed on him like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had to come in all Angel like and save the guy – it was pretty pathetic. I think it's time to do the tough love thing with her, she just doesn't seem to be getting anywhere unless we treat her like Dad would have. _

_The ghosts were easy enough, though not what I expected, that Molly, she was all right in the end, can't blame her I guess for not wanting to let go – especially when who knows where you're headed once you do. I can't help but think sometimes maybe I should have stayed dead, and then Beth wouldn't be going through what she's going through now...with the baby. Dad would be here to watch her and Sam, instead of the poor excuse for a replacement in me. At least he'd get the job done right, they wouldn't have to wait for me to find my way around in the dark._

_I just have to keep pushing through. Dad's gone, and he aint coming back, so it's just us now. We have to stick together, and if it kills me I'm going to get Beth sorted out. She was laughing a few days ago about Philadelphia, man that was a strange time. Here we were sharing a bed, and all I wanted to do was jump her – when she was completely out of bounds. Man when I think of the sheer amount of willpower it took not to – and then her eyes when we pulled back into ourselves, getting back to that motel with Dad. How I just went and found comfort in whoever came along first, it just pisses me off. Dad and his stupid decree. I mean he was off banging Cole for god knows how long? I don't even want to think about it. The man was a jerk._

_Sam's been calling, wanting to know when we're getting back. I told him to stay put at Bobby's, don't need him going off on his own and getting killed, or worse. One at a time, first I'll sort out Beth, then I can tackle Sammy. She's getting there, she's coming back into herself – it's taken nearly three days of talk talk talk and every little trick I've ever learned (and some I've just invented) to get her back to her usual happy self. Thank God that dry spell is over, that's all I can say. If she's happy, I'm happy. _

_So, lessons learned (since Dad always said I need to put that in here). 1. Hair pulling can be good. 2. Long slow kisses are better. 3. She really likes it when you stroke the base of her neck. Oh. And trees can be markers for otherwise unmarked graves. Who knew? Also, Beth is a walking encyclopaedia of weirdness...and I thought Sam was bad._

_OK, back to bed, where I don't plan on doing much sleeping, if you get my drift... yeah... right. Chick flick moment over. Dean out._

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Run to Me _by Nick Lachey. I just realised it should have been the song for the last chapter (but I forgot about it!) However it's fairly interchangable because this is just the most amazing song in my opinion. It so captures Dean's love for Beth. _And when you're blinded by this jaded world, I'll be your eyes. Even if you fall,I won't let you break. _Argh! Beautiful song!

* * *

Thank you for all the comments from last chapter, I'm off to reply to the ones I can right now :) Also thanks to the PM's that came in too :) Paddy77 you're not the first to tell me that about watching SPN now and wanting to see Beth there, I do it too. (I can't actually watch the first 3 movies of Star Wars for a similar reason because of an Obi-wan/Sabe fanfic I read and can't let go of). I can't read Dean/OC fanfic anymore because it just kills me to see him with anyone but Beth (and I definitely feel the same way when he's on screen kissing someone other than her!) I am thinking there's some awesome footage out there of Dean & Lisa though that could sort of be interpreted to be Beth in a video if anyone out there has the talent to pull it off!

P.S. Hey Caitysays... glad to see you're still around :)


	19. Heart

_We face a crossroad never knowing what's in store__  
__There's an angel on my shoulder__  
__There's a devil at my door__  
__She proclaimed, "Tonight__  
__Will be the greatest of our lives"__  
__And I said, "Don't be so sure__  
__Let's just wait until the morning light"_

_I feel my temperature rising__  
__My body explode__  
__I feel like somebody's watching__  
__Like I'm not alone__  
__I stopped, I vowed right then and said that_

_Whatever path you take (the path you take)__  
__Wherever you might go (where you may go)__  
__Whenever you decide to leave__  
__I'll follow__  
__I'll follow_

* * *

**HEART**

* * *

_**City Morgue  
San Francisco, California**_

I straightened my suit jacket and looked at Sam with a smile. It was good to be back on the job again without feeling like a huge dark cloud hanging over us all the time. Yeah sure, it was still there lingering on the horizon, and would get nearer if we focused on it for too long, but over all things were starting to feel just a little bit better.

The morgue attendant opened the compartment to the refrigerated area, and slid out the tray holding the latest victim. It was a middle-aged man, in pretty decent shape, and completely cut up along his chest, stomach, shoulders and throat. He had been mauled.

"Here he is Detectives," the attendant, Sally, said to us.

I grimaced at all the stitches. "That's a pretty nasty bite," I commented, looking up at her.

"Mmhmmm," she agreed with a nod.

"You know what bit him?" Sam asked, looking over at her.

Sally averted her eyes, looking like she would give anything to avoid that question. "I haven't quite determined that just yet," she said finally, and we could see clear as day that she was lying.

"Come on Doc. Off the record." Sam said, pushing for information, turning those eyes on her.

"Ok," she said, looking guarded. "Way, way off the record."

"Sure," Sam agreed, looking over at me. I raised my eyebrow.

Sally took a deep breath and thought about what she was going to say. She looked hesitant and afraid, like the answer she was about to give us would freak out an ordinary person. What she didn't know was that we were no ordinary _detectives. _

"If I didn't know better, I'd say the guy was attacked by a wolf. But unless I know that the zoo is missing one of their lobos, I'm going with pit bull." Sam raised an eyebrow and she eyed him carefully. "I like my job," she said firmly.

Sam chuckled. "Oh yeah, I hear you."

"One more thing," I said to her, drawing her gaze away from Sam. "This guy – was his heart missing?" I asked. Sally looked surprised.

"Yeah, how did you know that? I haven't even finished my report," she said.

I shrugged and smiled. "Lucky guess." I gave Sam a pointed look over her shoulder and he nodded imperceptibly at me.

We excused ourselves and walked back to the car.

"Dean is going to have a field day," Sam said, shaking his head. I laughed at that and nodded, it sure was something we didn't come across on a regular basis.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**San Francisco, California**_

Dean looked up from cleaning his gun as I entered the motel room. I went straight for the bed, kicking off my shoes and shrugging out of my jacket. I was feeling a little over dressed and uncomfortable. Rummaging through my duffel bag I found one of Dean's t-shirts and exchanged it for the button down blouse I was wearing – I felt better already. Dean's eyes were watching me playfully, then flicked over to Sam when he came in a few minutes later carrying Chinese take-out.

"So?" He asked finally, when neither of us said anything.

"Hmm?" I asked, slipping out of my skirt, and standing there in the t-shirt and my panties. Dean swallowed and then looked up at me, eyes narrowing.

"Don't try and distract me. This lawyer guy, was he the first heart-free corpse in town?" He asked. I grinned and stepped into a pair of sweatpants, pulling them up and tying the string at my waist.

"The first man," Sam answered for me. "Over the past year, several women have gone missing. Dead bodies all washed up later in the bay, too deteriorated to draw firm conclusions."

Dean looked like he was about to burst. "But no hearts?"

"No hearts," I said, crossing over to the food Sam had put on the table and fishing out the lemon chicken and combination fried rice.

"They were all hookers working Hunter's Point. Now, cops are trying to keep things under wrap, but they're looking for a serial killer." Sam finished, looking for his Black Mushrooms with baby bok choy. I handed him the box along with his egg rolls.

Dean was looking hungry, but he wasn't giving in to the teasing distraction we were trying to put him through.

"And the lunar cycle?" He asked, eyes narrowed.

I smiled and tilted my head. "Month after month, all murders happen in the week leading up to full moon." I confirmed with him, and his little smirk turned into a wide grin.

"Which is this week, right?" Sam asked me, playing dumb, waving his chopsticks around in the air.

"Yeah, yeah I think it is," I said with a grin.

"Hence the lawyer," Sam said with a nod and I agreed.

Dean's face couldn't have gotten any brighter. "Awesome!" He exclaimed, jumping up off the bed and coming over to the table. Sam and I rolled our eyes at him.

"Dean, could you be a bigger geek about this?" I asked, putting my food down and opening up my can of coke.

"I'm sorry apple-pie, but what about 'a human by day, a freak animal killing machine by moonlight' don't you understand?" He asked, sashaying up to me and putting his hands on my hips. "I mean, werewolves are bad ass. We haven't seen one in years!"

"Yeah, and am I the only one who seems to remember what it did to you?" I asked, frowning and reaching up to run a gentle finger along his eye socket, just under his right eye. The last time we'd gone up against a werewolf, it had tried to make him his chew toy, if John hadn't been such a good shot... I sighed frustratedly at his _devil may care _attitude.

"Awww come on, it got the jump on me, could have happened to any one of us, and I'm ok!" Dean said, looking down at me. "You gotta admit, this is exciting."

I rolled my eyes, looking at Sam. "Ok, Sparky," Sam said. "And you know what? After we kill it, we can all go to Disneyland."

Dean ignored him and instead pulled away, going back to the bed he'd been sitting on. "You know what the best part is?" I shook my head, thinking there was no best part in all this, but curious what he thought. "We already know how to bring these suckers down!" He reached down to the bag on the bed and pulled out a case which housed a good couple dozen silver bullets, brandishing one in the air confidently.

"So, what's our next move?" Dean asked.

Sam shrugged and shovelled some mushroom into his mouth with a satisfied grunt.

"Talk to the girl who found his body," I said, picking up my own lunch again.

"Hmmm, ok then." Dean said thoughtfully before coming over to look at the food. "After lunch," he sniffed at a couple of the containers. "What'd you get me? Mu Shu? Chow Mein?" He looked up at me and I nodded at the last comment. He grinned again and hungrily dug around for the plastic forks that were also in the bag. When he found it, he opened the container and leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek.

"You're the best," he said with a grin, digging in.

"Yeah, I know," I smirked at him, shaking my head a little enjoying the delight that was on his face.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment House**_

You could have scraped the boys' jaws off the ground, this girl was so drop dead gorgeous. She was peering at us with round dark eyes, long straight dark hair, and a curvacious body accentuated by a skin tight t-shirt that clung in all the right places. I watched the boys drool over her with guarded amusement. Personally I thought one eye was a bit bigger than the other and she looked a little bit buggy, but then, that could have just been the green-eyed monster talking. I shoved the thought out of my head as quickly as it came, reminding myself that Dean had been drooling over my ass not fifteen minutes earlier as I'd changed into a pair of comfortable jeans, similar t-shirt and my leather jacket.

"I don't understand. I already gave my statement," Madison said to us, showing us into the living room where there was a bearded man sitting on the couch in a _Mission Church _t-shirt.

"Right, well we just need to verify a few things," Sam said to her.

Madison nodded and turned back to us. "This is my neighbour, Glen. Glen, this is Detective..."

"Landis," Dean replied, quoting the director's name from one of his favourite 80s werewolf films. He went on to sprout out the director's names of two more werewolf films released that year. "And Detectives Dante and Wadleigh," he said, gesturing to Sam and myself respectively. I internally rolled my eyes, _Wadleigh, really? _

Glen stood up, looking a little uncomfortable. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to it," he said to Madison, giving her a bit of a puppy love look.

"Ok," Madison said with a smile. "Thanks for the casserole."

"Oh, how thoughtful," Dean commented with a grin as Glen passed him, I poked him in the ribs. Dean could be a bit of an ass sometimes, especially when he was playing it up in front of the ladies.

"Just call if you need anything," Glen said back at Madison before leaving. She smiled and watched him show himself out.

"He's sweet. He came over to check on me," she explained. "Please have a seat," Madison continued, showing us to the nearby dining table. We each took a chair and waited for her to join us.

"You must be pretty shaken up," I started, looking at her. "You were Nate Mulligan's assistant, right?"

"For two years, yeah," she said, nodding.

"So, you knew all about him?" Dean asked.

"Probably know more about him than he did," Madison said with a smile. "Nate was... he was nice."

"But?" I asked, sensing something more below the surface of that comment.

"Nothing, really. He had a few scotches in him, and he started hitting on anything in a five-mile radius. You know the type?" She asked. Sam looked over at Dean, who had raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I do, actually," Sam said, and I practically snorted. Dean wasn't quite so bad these days, thank god, but neither of us were above having a little good clean fun occasionally, something Sam managed to avoid like the plague. Dean winked at me and rolled his eyes at Sam, I smiled in reply, at the end of the day I knew where his heart was.

Dean's face turned serious as he looked back over at Madison. "Did he have any enemies?"

"What do you mean? It sure looked like an animal attack," she questioned, a slight frown creasing her brow.

"Yeah, we're just covering all the bases," Dean explained. "Was there anyone that might have had a beef with him – a former client, an ex?" She hesitated, thinking of something.

"What?" Sam asked gently.

Madison took a breath and looked at us. "Well, this is embarrassing, but my ex-boyfriend, Kurt ..."

"Kurt have a last name?" Dean interrupted and she glanced at him.

"Mueller," she said, looking back to Sam. "After we broke up, he went kind of nuts. He's...well kind of been stalking me. He got it in his head that something was going on between Nate and I. He showed up at my office."

"What happened?" I asked, leaning on the table.

"Kurt got into it with Nate, threw a punch before security grabbed him. I was lucky to keep my job." She replied, looking at me for what seemed to be the first time during the interview.

"When was the last time you saw Kurt?" Dean asked.

"A few nights ago. Actually, the night Nate died. We were all grabbing drinks at this bar and Kurt showed up." She definitely seemed to have a thing for Sammy, turning her eyes back to him as she spoke.

"And?" Sam prompted, his eyes watching her just as closely.

"Nothing. It was like he was watching me. Then he was gone. To tell you the truth... he scares me," she said, shuddering a little.

We saw ourselves out, I bounced down the steps ahead of the boys, walking toward the Impala.

"So, what do you think?" Dean asked of us, and I paused to think about the fact that he'd been asking that a lot lately. It was not like Dean at all, he was always take charge and lead, but in the last few hours he'd asked us twice what we thought about the next course of action. It was a little puzzling.

"Stalker ex-boyfriend? He hates the boss. And he was there that night," I commented as he reached me.

"You think he's our dog-faced boy?" Dean asked me as we rounded the car and climbed in.

"Well, it's a theory," I said, nodding.

"We've had worse," Dean agreed, looking over at Sam, who was also nodding his agreement.

"What do you say we pay Kurt a visit?" Dean said, starting up the car.

We waited until dark. The address we'd gotten for Kurt was across town. It was in an apartment building, clean but not exactly high end either. Dean picked the lock and entered the apartment ahead of us. We quickly canvassed the small area, kitchenette with combined dining, living room and one bedroom with an ensuite. It was clean and comfortable.

"Anything?" Sam asked and I shook my head. Dean had his head in the fridge, of course, and he closed the door with a sigh.

"No, nothing but leftovers and a six-pack," he commented.

"Check the freezer," I said to him, flipping through a couple of photo albums. "Maybe there's some human hearts behind the Haagen-Dazs or something."

Dean looked thoughtful and turned back to the freezer. At the same time we all heard a door open and close. There was a muffled crash outside which drew Dean's attention. He crossed to a sliding glass door that led out to a balcony.

"Hey guys!" He called back to us, and we joined him. "Check it out," he said, pointing to the wall of the building. There were claw marks sliding all the way down to the bottom floor, as if the creature had used the wall to slow down its fall.

We looked around but it was very dark, and there was no obvious sign of anything moving around below. I moved to go back inside and heard it as soon as the boys. A gunshot rang out from the alley and we all looked at each other startled.

Dean was pushing past me in an instance, Sam and I hot on his heels. We raced to the ground floor as quickly as we were able, rounding into the alley only to find a policeman's body completely mauled. I reeled back, the smell of blood on the air, causing me to dry retch.

There was a sudden panic that maybe we weren't alone, and I looked around our perimeter at the shadows that could hide a multitude of sins.

"I'll call 911," Sam said as Dean kneeled down next to the body. He looked contemplatively at the mauling of the body, and grimaced.

"I'd say Kurt's looking more and more like our Cujo," Dean said, looking up at me. I nodded, completely agreeing on that one. It suddenly occurred to me where he might go.

"Dean, if he's out there, we better check on Madison," I said, Sam looked a little startled and I wanted to chuckle. I wasn't used to seeing Sam all crushing on a girl.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment House**_

Dean knocked on the door when we got there. Glen stuck his head out of his own door across the hall when he heard the noise.

"What's going on?" He asked.

Dean turned a stern face to him and answered shortly. "Police business Glen."

Madison answered the door still dressed in a robe.

"What is it?" She asked, when she saw us standing in her hallway.

Sam glanced over at Glen, who was still inquisitively staring at us all. "Well, maybe we should talk privately," he said to Madison who nodded and let us into her apartment.

She went to the kitchen and handed us all some mugs, reaching for a pot of coffee on the counter.

"Has Kurt been here?" Sam asked. Madison began pouring us all some coffee.

"Not exactly," she said.

"What exactly does 'not exactly' mean?" Dean asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Well he was outside last night. Just...looking. Just looking at me." Dean and Sam exchanged a look and it showed her that there was definitely more to this routine questioning than met the eye. "Has he done something?" She asked.

"We're not really sure," Sam said quietly.

"It's probably nothing, but... we just don't want to take any chances," I said to her. "In fact, one of us should probably stay here with you, just in case he stops by." The boys were nodding at that suggestion, so I turned back to her. "Where does he work?"

"He owns a body shop," Madison said.

"You mind grabbing that address for us?" Sam asked. He looked over at me as she left the room. I hadn't missed the uncomfortable look on his face whenever Madison was around.

"OK Beth, you stay here with Madison, Dean and I'll check out Kurt's workplace." Sam said and Dean snorted, shaking his head.

"What?!" I said indignantly. "Why do I automatically get stuck with the babysitting the bug eyed woman?!" Sam panicked a bit at the tone in my voice and started to reached out to smooth away the implications of his statement.

"All right, you go. Dean can stay here." Sam said. I stared at him. Wow, he must really like this girl.

I snorted, looking at Dean. "Yeah right, like I'm leaving him here unchaperoned with the hot chick! Screw that. No, we settle this the old-fashioned way," I said to Sam, raising my fist to them in our tried and true rock-paper-scissors game gesture.

The boys raised their fists too and we bobbed our hands three times before choosing our weapon. Sam and I chose rock, Dean chose scissors. I chuckled at him.

"Dean, always with the scissors!" I said, he was so predictable sometimes.

"Shut up, shut up! Two out of three!" Dean said, always annoyed that he didn't win at this game...ever. So we went again.

We chose exactly the same thing again, and Dean cursed, he was out. It just left Sam and me. I smirked at him and we pumped our fists again. This time I was paper, predictably covering Sam's rock, which he'd chosen for the third time.

"Sam, always with the rock!" I grinned and covered his first with my hand.

"OK, you win, you stay with the girl," Sam said to me and I laughed, shaking my head.

"I win, I choose: _you_ stay with the girl." I said, and Sam rolled his eyes.

Dean chuckled, the look on his face showing that he didn't really care about the results, he pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck and slipped a hand around my waist.

"Enjoy bro," he said with a lascivious grin. I smiled cheekily and led Dean out the door. I intended to make the most of our time alone anyway, we'd been kind of crazy lately, making up for lost time; my libido was back in full throttle, so watching Dean on a minute by minute basis wasn't doing me any favours.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment**_

**Sam's POV**

Dean and Beth couldn't have been more obvious, throwing me back into the room like an offering to some old pagan god. I turned around to Madison with an apologetic look on my face for their behaviour, but it was lost on her – she'd missed the whole rock-paper-scissors exchange.

Madison had taken the time to get changed after they'd left. She was now wearing jeans and a form fitting top and she smiled at me, gesturing to the living room.

"Um...do you want to sit on the couch?" She asked. I looked at the couch, and then shook my head.

"No. No, no. I'm ok." I said back to her, seemingly reverting to awkward teenager all over again. _Where did that come from? _I took a seat back at the dining table.

"It's more comfortable." Madison pointed out.

"Ah, I'm fine." I said. She disappeared and then came back into the room with a basket full of laundry, dumping it unceremoniously on the table to sort. I noticed little black lacy panties among other scanty items and it just turned things ten times more awkward as she started folding them and making neat little piles right in front of me.

"You know, I think I will sit on the couch," I said, getting up and doing just that. My phone started ringing and for the first time in a while I answered it gratefully even though I knew what was coming.

Predictably it was Dean.

"_Let me guess. You're sitting on her couch like a stiff, trying to think of something to say," _he said on the other end of the line, not even waiting for me to say hello.

I ignored him, especially since it was true. "Did you find Kurt?"

"_No, he hasn't been at work all week. But because I'm good, and I mean really, really good... I got a line on where he might be." _Dean paused, listening to something Beth was saying in the background. He then chuckled and came back on the line. _"Oh hey, so Beth wants to know what bug-eyes is wearing?" _

I rolled my eyes. "Bye Dean," I answered simply, hanging up the phone. Those two were impossible.

Madison came over once I was off the phone and sat down on the couch. She picked up the remote and turning on the TV, flipping the channel to some stupid soap opera that Dean would watch. I rolled my eyes and she looked at me.

"I saw that," she said with a little smile.

"Saw what?" I asked innocently. She wasn't having any of it.

"OK, this is the deal: my house, my TV. I never get to watch my show." She turned back to the television. "So suck it up." I laughed and conceded the point.

A hour later I was completely riveted by the show, although I didn't want to admit it. But at least it gave me something to talk to her about.

"Wait, so... Kendall married Ethan's father just to get back at him?" I asked her. She smirked and nodded.

"Yep. And now she's set to inherit all the casinos that were supposed to go to Ethan," she said.

"What a bitch!" I said and we both laughed.

"Admit it, you're hooked," Madison said with a victorious grin.

"No, no, no, no, no. I wouldn't say I'm hooked." I denied, shaking my head, she giggled and it felt good to actually make someone laugh again.

"You know, can I ask you a question? It's – it's a little personal." I said to her.

"You've seen my entire underwear collection," she pointed out and I almost blushed thinking of how she'd just dumped it all over her kitchen table. "Go ahead." She prompted.

"Ok, um … well, you're – you're clearly smart." I started. "I mean your house is full of great books, you know? And you're independent."

"Uh-huh," she said with a nod, looking at me intently.

"What were you doing with Kurt?" I blurted out, feeling a little self-conscious.

She paused, and I started to think maybe I'd said the wrong thing, but then she shrugged.

"I don't know," she said honestly. "I mean it's not like he introduced himself, like, 'Hi, I'm possessive and controlling and I like to punch people. Want to be my girlfriend?'"

I laughed because life would be so much easier if that were the case. Then again, maybe I wouldn't want to know what the big honest broadcast would say about me. Beth was kind of lucky in that regard, she already knew all Dean's secrets.

"Yeah, well, I guess we all make mistakes," I said in response.

"Yeah, well mine's wanted by the police," Madison said, shaking her head. "You want to know why I stayed with him? Really?" I nodded, curious. "I was too insecure to leave," she confessed.

"I find that hard to believe. I mean, you don't really seem the type," I said to her, and that was the truth.

"Yeah, well some stuff happened. My life changed, I changed. For the better, I think." Madison said to me, smiling a little. She ran her hands through her hair as she talked, and I found it slightly distracting.

"What happened?" I asked.

"Well for one thing, I got mugged," she said with a short chuckle. I almost laughed, my mouth hanging open at her nonchalant attitude over a mugging.

"And that's supposed to be a good thing?" I asked her with a chuckle.

Madison sat up straighter, laughing with me. "I know, it sounds strange. And don't get me wrong, it rattled me. But then it hit me. I could keep feeling sorry for myself, or I could take control of my life. I chose the latter. First thing I did was tell Kurt he had to go."

"Smart move," I said, nodding.

"Apparently. Everything else just opened up, blossomed. It's all been wonderful, really." I shrugged at that idea, not seeing how she could be so positive about it all. "What? Doesn't everybody think that being a victim of random violence is the best thing that ever happened to them?"

I thought about Beth, and my gaze fell to my hands. I didn't know anyone who thought being a victim of random violence was the best thing they'd ever had happen... I laughed at the idea, I mean really, Dad? Dean? Beth? Cole? Me? Violence was kind of the whole problem.

"Yeah... not so much." I said finally with an ironic laugh. "You're... unusual."

"Unusual, like... _unusual?" _She asked, rolling her eyes and pointing to her head like she was a crazy person.

"No, no, no, no, no. Unusual like... impressive." I said, trying to explain.

"You think so?" She asked with a shy smile. I was about to answer when my phone started ringing again. It was Dean.

I smiled apologetically at Madison. "Sorry..." She nodded and I answered.

* * *

_**Strip Club**_

**Beth's POV**

Dean had called Sam, how he could hear a word over the blaring music of this place was beyond me. I was pushing my way back from the bar, a couple of beers in my hands, eyes on the back of Kurt's head. He'd planted himself at one of the stripper tables and I internally rolled my eyes. Dean was smiling like it was Christmas and I watched him hold out a dollar bill to the stripper who quickly took it from him. "Oh yeah, my eyes are glued," Dean was saying to Sam as I made it to his side. "Look, Sammy, I gotta let you go. I, uh, I don't wanna miss anything." He hung up, smirking at me and I shook my head.

"You really know how to show a girl a good time," I said to him, leaning against the table and taking a drink.

"You want me to get up there?" Dean asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because I seem to remember you didn't mind my little table dance when we were buying that new one for Bobby..." he said, eyes glued to me now. "In fact, I seem to remember getting you up on that table too..."

I grinned at the memory, Dean had supposedly been testing out the weight bearance of the table, given that John and Cole had broken Bobby's other table during an evening of god knows what on the old one. Dean still chose to believe they'd just been fighting and Cole had flipped his father through the table – which was true. But there was a little more to the story than that, he just didn't want to look at the whole relationship thing that had been going on there.

Either way, the table we'd picked at the store got tested by Dean's faux stripper dance, and by me trying to put him through it. There'd been a lot of frustrated moments between us those days.

"Hmmm," I said, taking another sip of my beer and glancing over at Kurt, who was still staring at the stripper. "Well you know, had to make sure we got our money's worth – that table is still there at Bobby's I might add."

"Yep," he said, leaning over to kiss me, his hot lips drawing a slight sigh from me. "You made the right decision." He said to me with a smile. I raised my eyebrow.

"Wasn't the only good decision I made that week, if I remember rightly," I said, smiling back at him. That week I'd also found out about John and Cole, and so I'd kind of decided that if John could mess with his own rules, to hell with them as far as Dean and I were concerned. Sure, it was still slow going to get to a point where John gave us his blessing, but we got there.

Dean chuckled and took at sip of his own drink. "Took you long enough you tease," he said. I grimaced, so many years where we'd have these little moments of touching, kissing, connecting – only to have it pulled out from under us when reality hit and I was too scared to go anywhere with it because of John.

"Come here," Dean said, putting his beer on the table, then sitting back on the stool, patting his knee. I smiled sadly at him, still in that memory, but I took the hint – putting my beer next to his. He held my hips as I climbed up to straddle him, sitting comfortably in his lap and facing him. "Stop dwelling," he said to me, eyes now completely on me. "We're here now aren't we?" I nodded, feeling the sadness slip away.

He slid his hands up under my jacket, pulling me in for a lingering kiss, and suddenly there was no stripper dancing around behind me, there was no werewolf we were hunting, there was nothing but him, and those lips: and they were just as amazing now as they were five years ago when I'd had a whole night of making out with him after his brush with a werewolf, somehow John's rules had seemed inconsequential when faced with Dean almost ending up a wolf's chew toy.

I got to spend the next thirty minutes practically giving Dean a lap dance for free, instead of us actually focusing on the stripper behind us. I looked at my watch and decided it was time to find us some food. Strip clubs, as it turns out, have a fairly varied range of food, so long as you can deep fry it. I ordered us a bit of everything, wings, fries, chicken strips, nachos, and was very disappointed that the phenomenon of the deep fried cheese curd hadn't made it out of the midwest yet.

The food kept us amused for another hour or so, but after that even Dean was starting to look bored with the scenery – and that was saying something. There were some couches in the corner, for doing dark and mischievous deeds, I didn't want to think about how long it'd been since they'd been cleaned because right now they were looking pretty darn comfortable compared to the stools we'd been on for the last few hours.

After another hour we gave in and took up residence on the couches. I lay back against the armrest, my legs draped across Dean's lap and he casually ran his hand back and forth along my calves and thighs. I shivered at the touch, giving him a cheeky grin and he smiled, looking just as tired as I was.

"Stake-outs suck," I muttered, leaning my head back against the arm of the couch.

"You'd think this one would be more enjoyable," Dean said, agreeing with me. "Man this guy has stamina!"

Kurt finally made his move, heading for the door. We pulled apart and followed at a discreet distance. We were within walking distance to Kurt's apartment, so we were all on foot.

Slipping into the shadows of a couple of trees, we let Kurt cross the road and go inside, waiting a few moments until we saw a light come on. Dean pulled his gun out and looked at me, I nodded and we started to cross the road, about halfway across the sound of shattering glass echoed from the front window of Kurt's apartment.

"What the...?" Dean muttered and started to run. We took the stairs two at a time and burst through the open front door, moving quickly through to the main room. In the centre of the living room was Kurt's mauled body, the werewolf hovering over him. I turned to us, and I gasped. It was Madison! She was still in human form, only her eyes were electric blue, her teeth had elongated into fangs.

She was on us in an instant, growling and pushing Dean into the wall. I aimed my gun, but she was too close to Dean for comfort, I hesitated to pull the trigger. He had pulled out a silver knife when he dropped his gun and he nicked her arm with it, she reared up with a growl and then smashed through the window nearest her. I ran to the window, trying to get a shot at her, but she was gone.

"Dean!" I muttered, and hurried to his side. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Sam, at the same time I shook Dean. He was completely knocked out.

Sam answered after a couple of rings. _"Beth, you ok?"_ Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Dean, not so much. We're at Kurt's, the werewolf knocked him out cold. Look, Sam, it's Madison." I said, checking Dean's pulse, just in case. It was thready but it was there.

"_What?" _Sam exclaimed. "_Beth, I've been here the whole time. She's in bed, asleep." _

"Yeah well why don't you check the bedroom, because she was just here Sammy," I said to him, a little frustrated. I shook Dean by the shoulder, tapping his cheek a little. "When she shows up, look below her elbow. Dean nicked her with a silver knife."

Sam sighed over the phone and hung up on me. I looked at Dean with a bit of concern, that knock to the head was going to hurt when he woke up.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment**_

**Sam's POV**

Beth had officially lost it, I'd been here the whole time. But just the same, when I hung up the phone I decided to go check the bedroom. I knocked and got no response, so I let myself in anyway. She'd be asleep, that's all. But that wasn't it, the bed was empty, and the window was open. There was movement from the bathroom and Madison came out looking a little worse for wear.

"Morning," she mumbled, rubbing her head.

I noticed the wound on her arm right away.

"Wow, my head, I feel like I was up all night drinking!" She said, grimacing in pain. I was so shocked to see that cut on her arm, I backed away, heading for the front door. Madison followed me, confused.

"Sam? What's going on ? Where are you going?" She followed me into the living room and watched while I locked the front door, sliding the chain into place.

I turned back to her and sighed. "I'm not going anywhere. And neither are you," I said. She looked panicked and tried to run, but the sun was coming over the horizon, whatever powers she had granted from the moon were gone. I grabbed her, and pushed her into a chair. I had rope in my duffel bag and I used it to secure her arms.

A half hour later she was looking at me with a mixture of betrayal and self-defeat.

"You're psychotic. The whole 'I'm a cop' trip, God I am so stupid!" She said, shaking her head.

"Well, I guess neither of us are who we said we were, huh?" I said to her, pacing back and forth in front of her, my gun in my hand and ready to be used.

"Sam, you're sick, ok? You're imagining things. Monsters don't exist, not really," she said. She hadn't taken too kindly to my werewolf theory when I explained it to her.

"You know what? Save the act." I said, crossing my arms. I was so sick of being lied to.

Madison started to cry. "It's not an act! I am not a werewolf! There's no such thing! It's made up, all right? They're not real! You know they're not real!"

She was begging me to see reason, and I hesitated for a moment, and then I saw the cut again on her arm.

"No?" I said, pointing to it. "Then where did that come from?" I asked.

"I don't know! Sam, God, you need help. Please, don't do something that you're going to regret. I'm not what you think I am. I'm not." Madison said, pleading.

I struggled to see the monster in her. Maybe she was telling the truth, maybe she really didn't know? I didn't know what was worse, because either way, she was a danger to us.

There was knocking at the door, and I went to unlock the chain, letting in Dean and Beth.

Dean looked pissed, he smirked as he walked into the room, looking over at Madison. "How you doin'? My head feels great, thanks," Dean said to her. She just sat there, staring in defeat at all of us.

"We gotta talk," I said quietly to Beth and Dean. I ushered them into another room and they turned questioning eyes to me. "She says she has no idea what I'm talking about."

"She's lying," Dean said confidently, no question in his mind.

"Or maybe she really doesn't know she's changing, you know? Maybe – maybe when the creature takes over, she blacks out." I said to them.

Dean looked at Beth and raised an eyebrow. "Like a really hot Incredible Hulk," he said with a grin. Beth rolled her eyes and looked at me.

"Sam, two of the victims were her boss and her ex-boyfriend. That doesn't sound rash and unconscious." She said to me, and I hesitated.

"Yeah, but what if it was?" I argued. "I mean, what if some animal part of her brain saw both those guys as threats? Hell, the cop, too."

"What are you the Dog Whisperer now?" Dean asked me, smirking.

"Look, man, I just... I don't know, there – there was something in her eyes." I was seriously starting to doubt Madison was aware of what was going on.

"Sam, she's killing people!" Beth said, frowning at me.

"But if she has no control over it ..."

"Exactly!" Dean interrupted. "She can't control it. Even if she's telling the truth, it's not gonna change anything."

"I'm _not _putting a bullet through some girl's chest who has no idea what's happening!" I stated angrily.

"Sam, she's a monster, and you're feeling sorry for her?" Dean asked. Sometimes he just didn't get it.

"Maybe I understand her." I said, and he just stared at me for a heartbeat. "Look, there might be another way we can get the job done without having to waste her."

Beth looked at me with a thoughtful look. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" She asked.

I pulled Dad's journal out from my jacket and flipped to the page I'd been reading earlier, nodding at Beth. "Dad's journal – 'lycanthropy might have a cure if you kill the werewolf who bit you, severing the bloodline.'" I looked up at them both.

"_Might _have a cure," Dean said. "Meaning 'who the hell knows?'"

"It's worth a shot," I said to him.

"Well, we don't even know where to start looking Sam, I mean the wolf that bit her could be anyone, anywhere – it might have been years ago!" Beth said with another frown.

I thought about it, and then something Madison said came back to me. "No, I don't think so." I said, and I pushed past them, going back into the living room.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

Sam was in super protective mode, he just didn't want to do what really needed to be done on this one. I felt sorry for the girl, I really did, but at the end of the day – if you can't control yourself, and you're hurting people, what were we supposed to do? I had to agree with Dean on this one.

We followed Sam back into the room where Madison was tied up.

"Madison, when were you mugged?" Sam asked her, she just glared at him, stone silent. "Please it's important all right? Just answer the question."

"About a month ago," Madison said haugtily.

"Did you see the guy?" Sam asked, and she shook her head.

"No. He grabbed me from behind," she answered, looking confused.

"Did he bite you?" Sam asked, I chewed on my lip, this really wasn't sounding good from where we were standing there. Sometimes life just sucked.

"How did you know that?" Madison asked quietly. Sam sighed and looked at us, Dean exchanged a hopeless kind of look with me, you could see the sympathy that was there, he didn't like this development any more than I did.

"Where?" Sam asked.

"On the back of my neck," Madison replied. Sam put down his gun and moved behind Madison, brushing her hair away from her neck, there was a scarred lump the size of golf ball on her neck, it was mostly healed now, but it would have been nasty when it happened. Dean swallowed, looking back at me and shaking his head.

"Oh that's just a love bite," he said. "Believe me, that could have been a lot worse." I was thinking about the time he got jumped, how close he'd come to being bitten, this could have been us five years ago, and I felt the horror seep into me.

"Where were you at the time?" I asked her, trying to shake the image out of my head.

"Walking home from a friend's loft," she answered, starting to look even more scared.

"Let me guess. Not too far from Hunter's Point?" Sam asked. She nodded in response.

Sam pushed us back into the kitchen, closing the door behind us. "The same place where those other murders happened. I'm telling you, it's a werewolf's hunting grounds," he said, looking at us both.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean it's gonna be out there tonight," I said to him.

"It's the right time of the lunar cycle," Sam argued. "Look, I know it's a long shot." He looked desperate, on that same old quest to save himself by saving others. I understood, I really did, but it was still a one in a million chance.

"Hey, you're forgetting something. Maddie's probably going to turn soon, all right?" Dean said. "We can't just let her take off to an all-you-can-eat buffet."

"I'll stay with her," Sam said. Sure, now he wanted to stay with her!

"And if she busts loose?" Dean asked, looking him in the eye. Sam didn't say anything. "Sam?"

"Sam?" I echoed in a warning tone. He sighed.

"I'll shoot her all right? But guys, I need you both to go out there. At least look for the thing. Dean, please," he said, turning to the one he had to convince the most. "We can save this girl."

Dean paused, staring at Sam for a few moments. His eyes flicked to me for a split second and then back to Sam. "All right," he agreed quietly.

I left the apartment with Dean, taking a second look at Sam, who closed the door with a final glance at us.

A few hours later we were down at Hunters Point, patrolling the area. So far it had been quiet, nothing out of the ordinary. If you could call drug dealers and prostitutes nothing out of the ordinary.

I was about fifty yards down the street from Dean, still within sight, but not too close either so we could cover more ground. There was a howling noise and I looked around, startled. I saw Dean start to move out of the corner of my eye, gun drawn as he walked quickly into an alley before him. I started running toward them as quickly as I could, gun low and by my thigh, ready to be used.

As I rounded the corner I heard Dean shout. "Hey!" The werewolf was dragging a hooker across the pavement, and she was screaming for help. At Dean's shout, the wolf looked up at him. Dean didn't hesitate, firing three shots and hitting it directly in the chest. The wolf collapsed by the hooker who was scrambling to her feet.

I shadowed Dean as I reached him, but the werewolf wasn't moving. The woman looked at us both, our guns drawn, and then took off running in the other direction.

"Hey don't mention it!" Dean yelled after her, turning to grin at me. I shook my head and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Nice shot," I said to him, which earned me another grin.

The werewolf had turned back into it's human form and I was surprised to see it was Madison's neighbour Glen. I hadn't been expecting that. He was coughing and choking on his own blood.

"What happened? Where am I? Help – help me!" He reached out to us, but we stayed back, just in case. "Oh, God. Oh my God!"

"All right, easy Glen," Dean said to him, glancing over at me. "Just take it easy." Glen looked at us confused, a small gasp of breath coming out of his mouth before the light left his eyes.

Dean pulled me into his arms with a sigh, and I leaned into him gratefully. It had been a really, really long day. I was going to sleep for a week as soon as we found a motel.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment – Outside**_

We were waiting for the sun to go down, I was groaning about the face that we couldn't at least wait until it got dark before sitting in the car staking out Madison's apartment. I really wanted to be in a motel, tucked up in bed, preferably with Dean next to me, but right now I was willing to take or leave that condition.

"It was sort of sad, actually." Dean said, looking over at Sam. "Glen had no clue what was going on." He paused and looked over at me. "Hey why do you think he turned Madison instead of just killing her in the first place?"

"I don't know. He seemed to have a real puppy love thing going on," I answered with a shrug from where I was lying on the back seat.

"Maybe his primal instinct did too. Maybe he was looking for a little, uh, hot breeding action?" Dean said with a grin back at me, I smirked, no points for guessing where his mind was.

"Something like that," I commented, shaking my head.

Dean turned to look back at Sam. "So?" He asked.

"So what?" Sam asked.

"Speaking of Madison..." Dean said suggestively, a grin spreading across his face.

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh whatever!"

"Don't 'whatever' me man, you liked her. Maybe, uh..." he trailed off with another lascivious grin.

"Dean, she thought I was a stark-raving lunatic!" Sam said, frustrated.

"You saved her life," Dean said, like the lunatic part was now irrelevant. She might believe us about the werewolf thing after seeing what she'd done to her bedroom over night – it had been torn apart, but that didn't mean she was going to just jump into bed with Sam.

"Yeah but she doesn't know that," Sam said quietly.

Madison's face suddenly appeared at the passenger window and she rapped on the glass. I jumped because I hadn't seen her coming and I'd been half way toward nodding off. Sam rolled down the window to talk to her.

"You know, for a stake-out, your car's a bit conspicuous. What are you still doing here?" She asked.

"Honestly?" Dean asked, and she nodded. "Uh, we're pretty sure you're not gonna turn tonight, but we've gotta be a hundred percent, so... you know, we're lurking."

"I know this sounds crazy," Sam said, trying to smooth over Dean's direct approach.

"Sure does," Madison said, but she smiled regardless. "Well, if we're gonna wait it out... we might as well do it together."

I groaned, now I'd have to sit up instead of being able to lie down in the back of the Impala. I wondered if I could get away with being rude and sleeping on Madison's couch. Dean reached over and smacked me on the ass.

"Come on princess, let's go," he said to me, and I sat up feeling a bit bleary eyed. He didn't look a lot better than me, but he was pushing through. Sam, for reason, was bright eyed and bushy tailed despite not having gotten any more sleep than us.

Madison showed us into the apartment, Dean and I took up residence at the dining table.

"You were telling the truth, weren't you? About everything. What you did –- it was to help me?" Madison asked, looking at Sam.

Sam nodded at her sadly. "Yeah."

"I did all of those horrible things…when I turned." The horror was starting to show in her eyes, the sinking knowledge of what she had done.

"You didn't know." Sam said quietly, compassionately to her.

She paused, as if considering his words. "So, when will we know for sure? Moonrise?"

"No, I don't think so. You turned middle of the night last night. I think we've gotta hang in until sun-up." Sam said.

Dean grinned at me. "Well, it looks like we've got ourselves a few hours to kill. Poker, anyone?" I shook my head in amusement and then nodded. Why not? It was the perfect opportunity to work on my poker face.

A few hours later the sun sank below the horizon and the moon started to climb into the sky. The tension in the room dialed up a few notches, especially when Dean took out his gun and laid it on the table. Sam and Madison looked at this action from their place on the couch, I grimaced and laid my head in my arms against the table top. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept.

"Oh no, you guys talk," Dean said, waving at them. He reached out a hand and started to knead the back of my neck, I groaned softly at the touch, it was lulling me to sleep – I wasn't sure if that was the intention or not.

A few more hours later and the sun started to rise, golden rays of sunlight streamed through the big bay windows in the living room – we were all standing in front of it, watching. Madison turned her big bug eyes to Sam, they both looked hopefully at each other.

"Does this mean it worked?" She asked.

Sam looked relieved and nodded. "Yeah, I think so."

"Oh, God, thank you. Thank you so much." Madison exclaimed, throwing herself into Sam's arms. He laughed and hugged her back. Dean cleared his throat, looking over at Sam and Madison. They pulled away from each other and Madison looked a little sheepish. "You two Dean and Beth, thank you."

"Aw, don't mention it," Dean said, looking at them, pleased. He stood there like a bit of a stunned mullet, and things grew awkward. I broke the silence.

"OK, so we're gonna go back to the motel and... get some sleep, or something." I said, pushing Dean toward the door. Dean was chuckling as we left the apartment, he pumped his fist in the air in a celebration for Sam looking like he was going to get some action.

"Smooth Dean, real smooth," I said with a laugh, slipping my arm around his waist.

He pulled me in tight against him and kissed me as we walked to the car. "So looks like we got some time to kill..." he said, nodding back at the house.

"Looks like," I said at him, raising my eyebrow.

Dean was all hands by the time we got to the motel room, sleep having kind of left him behind the moment he got behind the wheel of the Impala. I let myself get pulled along with his enthusiasm, giggling from pure sleep deprivation. Just the same, he was a little rushed, stripping us down within seconds, kissing me hot and fast, his hands moving to all the right places and getting me turned on within minutes.

I groaned at the touch, and arched up to meet him, my legs wrapping around his waist and urging him on. We met in the middle, gasping for breath as he inched his way inside me and then started to thrust with a quick primal need. It was all over with a delicious consuming wave of tremors, and I clung to Dean's shoulders, kissing his neck as our immediate passion subsided. With that need sated sleep quickly tried to pull me under so I crawled beneath the blankets and groaned as I fell face first into the pillow, Dean wasn't far behind me.

He got up to lock the door, putting the chain across, and then checked the rest of the room, something he usually always did when we got there, but his mind had clearly been on other things. Momentarily he crawled in behind me, slipping his arm around my waist and nestling in to hold me. It was our favourite position, and it was even better when we were riding high on an afterglow. We were both fast asleep within minutes.

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

We slept for most of the day, waking up to order dinner via room service – I had no intention on moving from the bed for the rest of the night – if it couldn't be done in bed, it wasn't happening, unless of course it was calls of nature, those would have to see me to the bathroom, but other than that!

We hadn't heard from Sam, Dean didn't really expect to, though I was a little surprised he hadn't at least checked in. Dean had flipped the channels on the TV, finally settling on a re-run of _Teen Wolf. _I smirked at the irony of it, but happily snuggled in beside him, munching on a couple of fries from the plate on his lap.

"Oh Pamela..." Dean sighed at the blonde on the screen. "Such a hottie." We were watching the scene where a pretty blonde was attempting to seduce the Wolf in his change room. I punched him in the arm and scoffed.

"What? The girl is a major league bitch Dean!" I pointed out to him, and he nodded.

"Yeah, but for a high school guy, she's a dream! I bet she gives it up at the drop of a hat." He said with a grin.

"You'd know," I said, raising my eye at him. "I seem to remember a particular young blonde who would have been more than willing to give it up for you. Then you went and broke her heart."

Dean sobered, thinking about it. "Yeah well...I had other things to focus on. Like getting your shit sorted out," he finished with a kiss to my forehead.

"Really? My shit?" I laughed. "I wasn't that bad was I?"

Dean pretended to think about, and then leaned down to kiss me lingeringly again. "You were confusing as hell – all tough on one hand, and having a total break down on the other." I thought about it, it really had been a difficult time for us all.

"Then Dad dumped us for, what, a week? Here I was with a new .. totally hot I might add... sister to deal with and he books on us?" Dean shook his head. "I was starting to think I'd been mad to weigh in about bringing you with us."

"Why did you?" I asked, curious. "I mean, you were pretty dead against it when you'd spoken to me about it, before Dad made his decision." We'd never really discussed this.

Dean shrugged, putting the now empty plate on the bedside table. "Maybe I wanted an easy lay?" He said with a challenge, raising his eyebrow at me.

I punched him playfully. "Hey!" We tussled and I found myself on my back with my wrists pinned above my head. "Did you really think that?" I asked, frowning.

Dean laughed at the idea and rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding? You were locked up tighter than Fort Knox, Dad had you so completely indoctrinated to his 'thou shalt follow the rules' club, I didn't stand a chance. You know, you were like... Boof," he said, looking up at the TV screen.

I chuckled. "Well at least she's cute," I said to him and he grinned, leaning down to kiss me again. When he broke away he looked at me a little more seriously.

"Honestly?" He asked, and I nodded. "I was kind of tired of dealing with Dad's shit on my own. I had Sammy to take care of, hell I had Dad to take care of... and sure, while you were going to be someone else to add to that list, you had it together – for the most part. There was also something I saw in your eyes, a determination to fix some of the wrongs that had happened in your life." I stared up at him, thinking about that.

"You were lonely?" I said softly, and watched as all sorts of emotions passed across his face.

"Well I wouldn't put it quite _that way._" He denied. But I could see it in his eyes. That was the crux of it.

"OK then _how would _you put it?" I teased with a raised eyebrow.

"Well..." he said, kissing along my shoulder and up my neck. "I'd put it like... I wanted you to take over the Sammy-duty while I went and got with hot chicks like Pamela!" He quipped, finally reaching my lips and hovering over them.

"Instead I got Boof!" He said with a chuckle. I smiled, shaking my head just slightly, and the rubbed my nose against his in a cute little eskimo kiss.

"Yeah but Boof is Scott's true love," I said simply and Dean smiled. His eyes melted into giant pools of liquid emerald as he stared down at me.

"Like I said... I got Boof," he said, brushing his lips across mine in a loving, tender fashion. I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding him close. This time, fully rested, we could take our time, and suddenly I didn't give a damn about where Sam was – hopefully he was having as good a time as we were, and would be less of a stick in the mud for it, at least for a few weeks anyway.

"By the way," Dean said as he started kissing his way down the length of my body. "Boof is way hotter than Pamela."

* * *

_**Motel Room**_

_**Next Morning**_

We woke up to a loud banging on the door, and then there was the sound of the lock tumbling as someone picked it. The door swung open and caught with the chain. Dean was out of bed and across the room by the time the door had even opened. He had the gun pointed at the door, and was standing there in all his birthday suit glory. I was busy scrambling for clothes, pulling a t-shirt over my head, and panties on which had been on the floor since the morning we arrived.

"Dean!" Sam's voice sounded when he realised the chain was on.

Dean visibly relaxed and rolled his eyes, walking back to his duffel bag. I slipped into some jeans and padded to the door while Dean pulled on clothes of his own. I undid the chain and opened the door, Sam barged in looking frantic.

"Jesus Christ dude, I nearly shot you!" Dean muttered at him, shrugging into some jeans and then adding a long sleeved t-shirt and jacket.

"She turned!" Sam said simply, it took me a moment to figure out what he meant.

"What?" Dean asked.

"I couldn't grab her in time," Sam said distraught, starting to pace the room.

"We'll find her, Sammy," Dean said quickly, trying to reassure our brother. The look he gave me was less than certain.

Within minutes we were heading to the Impala. Dean and I discreetly made sure we had guns with silver bullets, and silver knives on us. We didn't want to upset Sam any further than he already was, but the situation was looking very bad.

"I already called Bobby," Sam said leading us down the stairs to the car. "He doesn't know anything. Except he knew severing the bloodline wouldn't work. That's everyone. They all say it's impossible to reverse it."

"How come she didn't turn when we were with her?" I asked, frowning.

"Beth..." Sam said, holding his hands up.

"So what, you put her to bed and then she wolfed out? Maybe she's gotta be asleep to turn," Dean said, trying to reach a natural conclusion with this.

"What the hell does it matter, Dean?" Sam said, coming to a stop on the pavement and looking at the two of us. "Look, we've gotta find some way to help her, some legend we missed or something." Sam said urgently, not wanting to face reality.

"Sammy, if there was, don't you think someone we know would've know it? Hell, you and I are more well read than half the hunters out there, wouldn't you think we'd have come across something by now?" I said to him, the harsh reality was starting to blind me.

"Well, then we have to look harder until we find something," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Sammy, I don't think we've got a choice here anymore," Dean said, his eyes were full of sympathy, but out of the three of us, he was the one who always ended up having to make the hard calls.

"What?" Sam asked incredulously.

"I hate to say it," I said quietly. "But I agree with Dean. She's a sweet girl, but part of her is..."

"Evil?" Sam interrupted, turning to look at me.

"Yeah," Dean said seriously.

"Yeah, that's what they say about me, guys. So, me you won't kill, but her you're just gonna blow away?!" He looked hurt and frustrated. His phone rang, interupting us, and he answered it quickly.

His face crumbled when he heard her voice on the other end. I looked at Dean, chewing on my bottom lip, this was bad, this was really bad.

"Madison, where are you?" Sam asked, his eyes meeting Dean's before he started walking to the car. "Well do you see any street signs?" He followed up after she said something. He was already climbing into the front seat, Dean getting in the driver's side.

"All right, hold on Maddie. We're coming to get you, just stay where you are." I sighed and jumped in the back. So much for a relaxing day off.

* * *

_**Madison's Apartment**_

We were back at Madison's. We were all sitting around the dining table, or standing nearby. Dean had put his gun on the table, mine was tucked safely at the small of my back under my jacket, just in case.

"I don't remember anything." Madison said softly, shaking her head. "I probably killed someone last night, didn't I?" She was still dressed in nothing other than an oversized men's shirt that she'd stolen of a clothes line when she woke up naked and far from home.

"There's no way to know yet," I said gently from where I was leaning up against the kitchen counter a few feet away.

"Is there something else we can try to make it go away?" Madison asked, hopeful.

"Well find something," Sam promised. "I mean, there's gotta be some answer, somewhere."

"That's not entirely true." Dean countered with a sad look at Sam. "Madison, you deserve to know. We've scoured every source. There's just no cure."

"Is – is he right?" Madison asked tearfully, looking at Sam. Sam's face fell and he stood up, turning away.

"Well, we could lock you up at night, but – when you bust out, and some night you will, someone else would die." I said softly to her. "I'm sorry, I am."

Madison sniffed back tears, and I felt doubt starting to creep into my mind. I pushed it back out, there was no room for emotional attachments on a job like this. Dad had taught me that.

"So, I guess that's all there is to it then," Madison said calmly.

"Stop it. Don't talk like that!" Sam said, more upset than the girl in front of us.

"Sam, I don't want to hurt anyone else. I don't want to hurt you," she said. She grabbed the gun from the table and stood, walking over to Sam, pushing it at him.

"Put that down." Sam said, shaking his head.

"I can't do it myself. I need you to help me." She said quietly, holding the butt of the gun against his chest. Sam refused to take it.

"Madison, no," Sam said, looking her in the eyes and fighting back tears.

"Sam... I'm a monster," she said, still pushing the gun at him.

"You don't have to be. We can find a way, all right? I can. I'm gonna save you." Sam promised her, and the tears started to flow freely from Madison's eyes.

"You tried," she sobbed. "I know you tried. But this is all there is left. Help me, Sam. I want you to do it. I want it to be you." Sam struggled, his gaze falling back and forth between Madison and the gun.

"I can't," Sam said, his voice breaking.

"I don't wanna die. I don't. But I can't live like this. This is the way you can save me. Please. I'm asking you to save me." Madison pleaded. Sam shook his head. Dean and I exchanged a look and I tilted my head, offering in an unspoken question – I could do it, if it meant sparing Sam this pain. Dean shook his head imperceptibly to me, and I knew he'd already made up his mind.

I watched as Dean walked over to them and carefully took the loaded gun from Madison. Sam struggled, tears starting to run down his face, he looked Madison in the eyes and then left the room. Dean followed him, an agonised look on his face, I flashed Madison a sorry look and then followed the boys, leaving her to her thoughts.

Sam was down the hallways, and Dean was watching him, "I'm sorry," Dean said, looking down at the gun in his hand. I stopped a few feet away, watching them both.

Sam sniffed back tears and shook his head. "No, you're right. She's right." He admitted. There was a moment where Sammy stared at the two us, and we watched him. I moved up alongside Dean, and then gently laid a hand on Sam's arm.

"We'll do this," I said to him, and Dean nodded.

"Sammy, I got this one. I'll do it," Dean agreed. We would do this to spare him this pain, our little brother who had already been through so much, lost so many people. That's why we were here, to protect him from moments like this, just as we were to protect him from the life threatening ones.

"She asked me to," Sam said quietly.

"You don't have to," I said protectively, trying to spare Sam the pain of what was going to happen.

"Yes, I do." Sam said, putting his free hand out to Dean, gesturing for the gun. Dean hesitated, looking at Sam sadly. "Please." There was a pause and then Dean handed over the gun. "Just wait here." Sam instructed us, and I nodded solemnly.

Sam left the room, tears streaming down his face. Dean had a defeated slump to his shoulders. I crossed to him, putting my arm around his waist and looking up. There was a single tear that trickled down his cheek as he looked forlornly at me. I shared his sentiments, this was one of the harder things we'd ever had to do.

A single gunshot rang out through the apartment, loud and ominous. We both flinched at the sound, and it echoed in my head. I had a feeling it would be echoing in all our heads for a long time to come.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is : _Midnight Hands _by Rise Against.

* * *

Shout out to _Teen Wolf _of course, who couldn't reference it during a show like this?

* * *

I'm away for the weekend and won't have much of a chance to update then (unless I get o na roll tonight and manage to whip it up, but I doubt it, I just don't see myself getting the time). I'm hoping to get a couple of short stories up to tide you guys over though, so will see how I go for time. Otherwise, we'll be back with _Hollywood Babylon _which will be an early-relationship flashback.

* * *

I'm pretty tired right now, so please excuse any typos etc. as I may have missed some.

* * *

As always, thank you for the reviews and PM's, they mean a lot to me, and I love to chat with readers about what they're liking (or even hating or finding confusing) about the story. So please let a review when you're done, even if it's just to tell me what your favourite line was from the chapter! (Mine was _"Don't try to distract me" _and the look that would have been on Dean's face LOL Although I did have a lot of fun with the Boof comments :))


	20. Hollywood Babylon (Flashback)

_Well, the years start coming and they don't stop coming  
Fed to the rules and I hit the ground running  
Didn't make sense not to live for fun  
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb_

_So much to do so much to see_  
_So what's wrong with taking the back streets?_  
_You'll never know if you don't go_  
_You'll never shine if you don't glow_

_Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play_  
_Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid_  
_And all that glitters is gold_  
_Only shooting stars break the mold_

* * *

**HOLLYWOOD BABYLON  
(approx. 4.5 years ago – 2-3 months after Dean & Beth get serious  
2 weeks after _Route 666 _from _Highway to Hell_)**

* * *

**_Warner Brothers Studios  
Hollywood, California_**

**Beth's POV**

John looked incredibly uncomfortable sitting next to me on the tour trolley as it slowly crept through the various studios of _Warner Brothers. _

"First opened in 1927, the lot has been in continuous operation for eight decades," the tour guide said over the loudspeaker. Dean turned to a chubby kid sitting next to him eating an icecream and grinned.

"Hey, you know this is where they filmed _Creepshow?"_ He said, I twisted around in my seat to look at them, and the kid threw Dean a look as much to say he had no idea what he was talking about.

"Now to the right, here is Stars Hollow. It's the setting for the television series _Gilmore Girls. _And if we're lucky, we might even catch one of the show's stars," said the tour guide.

Dean leaned forward and tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, hey Sammy would love that!" I chuckled, shaking my head at how much Dean was enjoying this tour.

John rolled his eyes at Dean and looked at me. "Come on," he said.

"Awww, come on! Let's finish the tour!" Dean said to John, but the older Winchester simply got off the trolley in full confidence that we'd be following. I jumped off the trolley and watched Dean hesitate.

"Dean!" I said to him, throwing him a warning glance. Dean sighed and slid out of his seat on to the pavement below, a scowl on his face.

We started following John around one of the buildings, Dean was checking out some of the people standing around. "Beth, check it out, it's Matt Damon!"

I spun around, all excited, and was disappointed at what I saw. I sighed at Dean. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's _not _Matt Damon," I said, rolling my eyes.

"No, it is." Dean said determined.

"Well, Matt Damon just picked up a broom and started sweeping," John said, listening in on the conversation.

"I think I'd know Matt Damon if I ran into him, thank you very much!" I quipped, sticking my tongue out at Dean.

"Oh that's mature," Dean said smuggly. "Well, maybe he's researching a role or something."

"I don't think so..." I said, shaking my head.

"Come on, I think Stage 9 is this way," John interrupted us, heading in a new direction.

Dean sighed, clearly wanting to go have a little fun, but he wasn't about to argue with his father. John caught the sigh and turned to look at us.

"Hey you were the ones who wanted to come to LA," he said to us.

"Yeah, for a vacation Dad," I laughed, "Swimming pools, movie stars, not work!"

He smirked at us and shook his head. "Working is good, it'll keep you focused," he said gruffly and I sighed.

"Yeah, ok. All right. So, this crew guy – he died on set?" Dean said with a shrug in my direction.

"Yeah, rumours are spreading saying the set's haunted," John replied with a short nod.

"Like a poltergeist?" I said nervously, it'd only been about ten weeks since we'd encountered one of those and it had sent me flying through a second-storey window, almost to my death. Dean grimaced and laid one of his hands protectively at my lower back.

"It could be a poltergeist, yes," John said, nodding. He frowned a little at me, recognising that I was still a bit beat up from that, I'd had a massive gaping wound in my side which had only just healed up from the fall, my shoulder had been dislocated too – they were all just starting to return to normal now. The wound was still extremely tender to the touch, and I subconsciously ran a couple of fingers along it.

Dean tried to distract me. "You know it was rumoured that the set of _Poltergeist _was cursed. That they used real human bones as props. Like three of the actors died in it!" John and I stared at him. Not the distraction I really had wanted.

"Well it might be something like that," John said in all seriousness. Dean sighed.

"All right, so this crew guy – what's his name?" He asked.

"Frank Jaffey," I said to him, wondering if he ever actually listened to John when he was briefing us.

"Frank Jaffey – he got a death certificate or a coroner's report or anything?" Dean asked.

"Well, no. But it's LA, you know? It might not even be his real name. But the girl who found him said she saw something – a vanishing figure," I said. I had been paying attention, but then, I usually did.

"Girl's name?" Dean asked.

"Tara Benchley," John said and started walking toward the studio again. Dean's eye perked up at the sound of that.

"Whoa, whoa, Tara Benchley? From feardotcom and Ghost Ship, Tara Benchley? Why didn't you say so?" Dean said, starting to hurry after his father.

"What, now you're suddenly on board?" I asked, trailing after them.

Dean saw the sigh and came back to me; John shook his head and kept walking. "Oh, come on, I'm just a fan of her work. She's very good." He said giving me a quick kiss and one of his heart-stopping smiles. I rolled my eyes and started to follow John. Dean chuckled, putting his arm around my shoulder and walking with me.

* * *

**_Stage 9 Movie Set_**

**Beth's POV**

When we entered the set John wandered off to talk to one of the crew members who was setting up microphones, waving us on to a group of a couple of directors huddled talking near the front of the set.

"No look, don't get me wrong. Everyone at the studio loves the dailies, me included. We were just wondering if it could be... you know, a little brighter." One guy was saying, he was well dressed in a suit, and had the suave hair thing going on. I figured he was someone higher-up in the Hollywood food chain of movie production.

The man with him looked sceptical "Brighter?" He asked. He was less impressive, a little over weight, in a polo shirt with a cap on, and looked tired and impatient with the well dressed man.

"Yeah, Jay. More colour. McG, you know what I'm saying; you're the master of that stuff." Fancy hair said to the taller man standing with Poloshirt guy.

"Brad, this is a _horror movie." _The guy identified as McG said.

"And who says horror has to be dark? It's sort of depressing, don't you think?" Hair guy, aka Brad, said. As he was talking he'd noticed Dean and I wandering over. He looked right at Dean.

"Uh, excuse me, Green Shirt Guy?" He called out, pointing to Dean's over shirt. Dean looked surprised and pointed to himself. "Yeah, yeah, you. Come here."

Dean looked at me and shrugged before walking over to this guy.

"Can you get me a smoothie from Kraft?" He asked Dean.

"You want a what from who?" Dean asked, not understanding.

Brad scoffed at him. "You are a P.A.? This is what you do?" He asked. Dean looked confused and I quickly walked up to intervene.

"Yeah, yeah, … one smoothie, coming right up," I said, pulling Dean away with me.

"What's a PA?" Dean asked, still confused.

"They're kind of like slaves," a British accent sounded from behind us. I spun, recognising the voice.

"Jefferson!" I exclaimed. The tall, spikey haired Brit had walked up behind us when we weren't looking and was standing there smirking at us.

He inclined his head to the side and we all wandered off somewhere more private to talk.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him, as soon as we were out of earshot.

"Same thing you guys are by the looks of it," Jefferson said with a smile. "Only I have managed to convince them I know something about props, I'm handing the weapons – not that there is exactly a massive amount on this set."

"They'll let anybody in this business huh?" Dean asked with a smirk.

"Apparently so," John said, finding us in the dark and coming up behind us.

"Hey John, long time," Jefferson said with a nod. John nodded back, looking all serious at him. Jefferson swallowed. The last time Dean and I had gone on a case with Jefferson, I'd been eighteen, and Dean had disobeyed orders – not entirely his fault – and I'd been caught by the homicidal spirit we were hunting. Jefferson took the blame because he was the lead on the hunt; things had been a bit tense with John since then.

They stared at each other a while and then John's face broke into a grin; he laughed and reached forward, pulling Jefferson into an embrace.

"Good to see you man," John said, uncharacteristically. I raised an eyebrow while Jefferson and Dean looked stunned at the show of affection.

"Hey, this guy and I go way back," John said in explanation. "I can't stay mad at him forever."

"Could have fooled me," I muttered. I liked Jefferson, but hadn't really approached the idea of working with him since the Philadelphia hunt because of how pissed John had been over the whole thing and how it went down.

John just looked at me, and then chose to ignore the statement.

"You need a hand with this one?" John asked, looking at Jefferson.

"The more the merrier, you know me," Jefferson said enthusiastically. "I just got here a few days ago, so far there hasn't been anything to get excited about."

"Well that could be a good thing." John said with a nod. He was thinking something over, and I exchanged a look with Dean, who shrugged.

"I'm gonna leave Dean and Beth with you, I don't think we all need to work this one." John said.

"What?!" Dean said, gaping.

"Stay here and work the job, I'm heading out for a week," John said.

"To do what?" Dean asked.

"None of your business Dean." John replied sternly. I elbowed Dean in the ribs and he grimaced at me. Just the same, he fell silent.

"You have Jefferson here, it's not like I'm abandoning you. I have a few things to take care of, that's all." John said sternly, looking over at us.

"Yeah I bet you do..." Dean muttered under his breath, looking at me. I frowned at him, curious as to what had gotten into him.

"What's the supposed to mean?" John asked, catching the comment. I held my breath, afraid that this was going to end in a fight like it usually did.

"Look why don't you just admit you're off to get your freak on with Cole? What's so wrong with just being upfront about it?" Dean asked. I stared at him. What did he care if John was going off to see Cole? I reasoned that's what he was going to be doing, but he wasn't going to admit it. We'd just spent time hunting a water spirit with her a month ago, and I highly suspected she'd been the reason John was so absent from the case with Cassie, just two weeks ago. But John admit to spending that amount of time with her? It wasn't going to happen.

"What I do with my time is my business Dean, check your tone," John said with a steely gaze. He wasn't about to take Dean's shit, he'd already born a few of Dean's comments, but they were starting to wear thin on the older man.

I kind of understood Dean's hesitation, after all, Bobby was like a second father to us – well third for me – and it was a little weird thinking about Cole, who was our age, with John. On the other hand I was being incredibly selfish; I was looking forward to the alone time with Dean.

I didn't know what was going on as far as John and Cole were concerned right now, I didn't know if they were talking, fighting, or something else - I got the impression she was laying low – not sure what to do now we were back on the road. John didn't mention her, and we didn't ask – Dean was still in denial about the whole thing because she was his age, and that just weirded him out.

John had turned to converse quietly with Jefferson and I looked at Dean who was fuming at his father.

"Hey, let it go," I said quietly in his ear. "If he needs to take off, let him."

He threw me a frustrated look and shook his head; I knew he was thinking along the same lines as me. Lately John wasn't adhering to his own rules very much. But I had to admit he still got the job done; we probably had a lot that we could learn by watching this, because sure as hell, whenever we got distracted on the job, things went a little haywire.

"OK." John said finally, turning to us. "Keep your heads on straight, work the job; _don't get carried away having too much fun." _I smirked at that one, thinking back to my twenty-first birthday only three months ago. "Stay safe," John finished, looking at me. I nodded. "Keep Dean out of trouble please?" He asked, and Dean snorted. I laughed and nodded in response. Dean was still rolling his eyes at John.

"Sammy's started school, I'm going to check on him," John said quietly to Dean as he walked past him. Dean stared. It was the first time John had mentioned Sam at all since the fight. I was floored. I should have expected it, but I hadn't – I'm not sure what was worse. "Look after your sister," he said, looking back at me. Dean nodded, now silent.

John gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled, ruffling my hair a little. I smiled back at him. Then he was gone, walking out of the studio.

"Yeah, and the rest," Dean muttered to his retreating back. "Isn't gonna take a week to check on Sammy," he said to me. I rolled my eyes; he just wasn't going to let it go.

"So guys," Jefferson said, breaking the mood. "Where are you staying?" Staying? We looked at each other and then the smiling blond and shrugged.

"I thought you might say that. Well most of the places around here are booked solid because of some _Buffy _convention_._" Jefferson said.

Dean looked confused. "Who is Buffy?" I snickered and shook my head. He knew what _Charmed _was, but somehow _Buffy_ had slipped under his radar, maybe three hot women on the screen trumped one.

"_Buffy the Vampire Slayer_, it's a massively popular TV show Dean," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Oh yeah? Vampire Slayer? Pffft yeah right. Now _Charmed_, that's realistic, plenty of witches out there, dunno about good ones, but vampires?" Dean looked sceptical. "You know if they want to make a realistic TV show, they should make one about our lives… they could call it … _Supernatural Hunters_… yeah."

Jefferson laughed at the idea and I grinned.

"Only you would think there's something in our lives worth televising, Dean," I said with a shake of my head. Dean looked offended.

"Hey, I happen to think I'd be very popular, in the right lighting…" he said with a grin.

"Well, I'm not sharing you with a raging fan base – bad enough just about every woman throws herself at you now, so enough of that and maybe we should get back to the job at hand?" I said to him.

"Smoothie!" Dean exclaimed and started to run off to do his new job. Jefferson called out directions to him as he went, laughing as Dean almost ran into a fake wall.

"Well, well," Jefferson said to me with a cheeky grin. "Guess I do have to give up the bed for certain this time if you're staying with me." I blushed and he threw an arm around my neck in a brotherly fashion. "So how long has it been?" The last time Jefferson had worked with us I'd been eighteen, and Dean and I had shared a bed – it was all relatively innocent until he'd woken up with a boner shoved in my back in the morning. That had kind of got our hormones brewing, and they'd been simmering away ever since causing an untold amount of sexual tension in the family unit.

"Uh… two months?" I said to him, a little chagrined.

"Is that all?" Jefferson looked shocked. "You took your time!" I groaned and nodded.

I looked pained because he was right. We'd taken way too many years to get to this point.

"That's ok, least you got there in the end. Now there's a massively big couch in my suite, this is Hollywood after all, and I thought I'd roll in style this time around. The studio is paying; they just don't know it yet!" Jefferson's laugh rolled easily from his lips and his eyes crinkled when he smiled. It was good to see him again. "You guys can have the ridiculously large bed."

* * *

Hours later I was just loitering about. Dean had returned with his second tray of smoothies, setting them down. We looked around as the cast and crew got ready to resume shooting. Dean nodded up at the scaffolding and indicated he was going to take a look. I was busy watching the actors get into position.

"Why don't we take it from 'Come on, it'll be fun,'" suggested McG and they all nodded. "And, action!"

Tara Benchley was playing the lead character Wendy in the movie. She stepped up to the set, a book in her hands and resumed her role.

"Come on, it'll be fun," she said in character. She began reading from the book in very choppy Latin, I tried not to smirk; Latin was like a second language to me so maybe I was a little critical. Dean was inching his way along the scaffolding, EMF meter in his hand. He scanned around, and then started to make his way down to me again.

Tara was still struggling through the Latin and the director was getting annoyed.

"Maybe we'll finish this up tomorrow," he suggested.

The actress broke character and looked over at him. "Oh my God, I hate you so much right now."

"Cut!" McG called out at that. Everyone around me, cast and crew started laughing. "Very nice," McG said, shaking his head.

A few minutes later Dean was at my side at the food and drinks table.

"So?" I asked, inclining my head toward the scaffolding.

"No EMF anywhere," Dean said, picking at the food and starting to stuff his mouth.

"Great. So, what do you think?" I asked.

"Well, I think being a P.A. sucks. But the food these people get, are you kidding me? Look at these things!" He picked up sandwich and held it out to me. "They're like miniature Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They're delicious!" Leave it to Dean to discover the food. He held one out to me and I grinned, taking it from him. I took a bite and it was like a little bit of steak heaven melting in my mouth. I nodded appreciatively.

"What'd you find out about the dead crew guy?" Dean asked around a mouthful of sandwich.

"Frank Jaffey was just filling in for the day. Nobody here knew him or where he lived or anything," I said.

"Oh great. So you found out about as much as I did." Dean said with a sigh.

"No, not quite…" I let my voice trail off as one of the crew approached. His name was Martin and I think he was one of the script writers.

"Hey guys," he said to us casually, looking up at me. I was staring over at the set, so I missed the double-take that he did when he saw me.

"Rose?!" He asked, looking at me. I glanced over at him, wondering whether he was talking to me or not, it appeared he was by the way he was looking at me.

"Uhh..." I said hesitantly.

"Rose Byrne is that you?! You remember me? Martin Flagg? We worked together on _The Goddess of 1967," _I stared at him. I had no idea what he was talking about. Martin continued to ramble on.

"I mean, it was three years ago and all, and things move quickly in the movie industry right? I was on location in Australia for that one." Dean started nodding at him, smiling away. I threw him an incredulous look.

"Yeah, yeah Marty, of course she remembers you... she talks about you all the time," Dean said, taking Martin's hand and shaking it. He turned stern eyes to me which told me to start acting, and make it good.

"Right, of course, sorry it's just been a long day!" I said with a smile, leaning forward to give Martin a kiss on the cheek.

"What happened to your accent?" Martin asked me, looking at me curiously.

"My accent?" I asked, then remembered Rose Byrne was an Australian actress. "Oh! Yes, that. Well you see... I'm working on an American film see, and it's just easier to stay with the accent, otherwise I lose it." I tried my best to sound credible.

"Well, you nailed it," Martin said with a dazzling smile, looking at me like he could eat me up. "I really love what you've done with your hair."

"Oh?" I said, a little self-consciously, touching the long dark tresses that were hanging down my back.

"Yeah, I mean red was awesome, but I just love the brunette – is that your natural colour?" I nodded because I couldn't think of another answer. "Yeah, I thought so." Martin said with another smile.

"Yeah, those brunettes, something special about them isn't there?" Dean cut in with an awkward smile. Martin more or less ignored him.

"Uh, yeah." He said to Dean, raising his eyebrow. "So what are you doing here?" He was looking at me again, deep dark eyes staring into my soul.

"Uhhh, well you know I'm a big... big... huge fan of horrors, a little guilty pleasure of mine." I said, trying to think of something to say.

"Oh really? Well, why don't you come sit with me while we film? Maybe you can give some of these young kids some real acting tips!" Dean was nodding at Martin's suggestion and pushing me away. I threw a look back at him as much to say, _what the hell are you thinking_.

"Sure, Marty," I said finally. "Just give me a minute to give my PA some errands to run, ok?"

Martin looked Dean over and then nodded. "Well don't be long, we're about to start again." I nodded with a smile and watched him walk away, before spinning on Dean.

"Are you insane?!" I whispered urgently. "I'm no actress!"

"Yeah, but he doesn't know that!" Dean said, he was beaming at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Listen, before I have to go be all _Hollywood,_" I said to Dean, drawing his gaze again. "I did dig up some stuff about Stage 9's history."

"Yeah?" Dean asked, curious.

"Yeah, four people died messy here over the past eighty years. Two suicides and two fatal accidents," I said.

"Any one of those could be a vengeful spirit," Jefferson said, coming out of what seemed like nowhere.

"Yeah. We've just gotta narrow it down more," Dean said, his eyes suddenly becoming distracted as Tara walked on to the set. "I'll get right on that." He wandered off and I rolled my eyes. If I wasn't still riding high on the fact that he and I had solidified our relationship a few weeks back, I would probably feel hugely insecure right now. Scrap that, I still did, and I sighed at Jefferson.

"You know he's never going to change in that regard," Jefferson said. "Best get used to it, but I wouldn't worry about him going someplace else, you don't see the way he looks at you little girl." I chewed on my lip, wanting to believe him, not sure I completely did. Then again, he had turned down Cassie two weeks ago when she threw herself at him.

"Well," I said thoughtfully, looking over at Martin who was waving me over with a big smile. "Two can play at that game." I raised my eyebrow at Jefferson and he shook his head.

"Beth! Don't be like that with him." But I was already walking toward Martin. "Beth!" I glanced back to see Jefferson looking a little bewildered at the pair of us, arms crossed and a stern look on his face.

I sat in the director's chair next to Martin and beamed at him. Dean caught the look out of the corner of his eye as he was talking to Tara, and he turned narrow eyes to me. Martin was a pretty good looking, if not older man, if I wasn't completely and utterly in love with Dean I might have even pursued Martin given his obvious affection for me. I was flattered.

* * *

**_Stage 9 Movie Set_**

**Dean's POV**

So maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to push Beth into pretending she was a movie star. Movie stars got attention, and while I couldn't exactly blame Marty for being interested, it did leave me with an uncomfortable feeling in my gut. I found myself starting at Beth as she smiled and talked to Marty, instead of focusing on the girl in front of me.

I grabbed a sheet of paper from one of the set workers as they walked on by and stepped up to Tara Benchley, _the Tara Benchley _who was sitting on a chair right there in front of me.

"Are you supposed to get one of these?" I asked her, holding out the paper. She looked up and smiled at me, I took it as a good sign.

"I don't really know what I'm doing," I said nervously.

"First day?" Tara asked with a smile.

"Yeah. My big break." I said, acting all shy and stuff. She chuckled at me. _God I'm good, _I thought. "You know, I know it's really uncool to say this, but I'm a big fan. I loved you in Boogeyman," I said honestly to her.

"Oh God, what a terrible script," she said with a smile. "But thank you."

"Yeah." I said smiling back at her. There was an awkward pause as she stared right at me. I imagined I could feel Beth's eyes staring right into my head. Good thing she didn't have laser vision. "You found him, right? The dead guy?" I asked at random. Tara went really quiet in front of me and looked away. "I'm sorry," I back pedalled, "you probably don't even want to talk about this."

"No! No, actually. It's ok. Nobody around here really brings it up very much. I think they're all scared I'm gonna have some kind of a breakdown," she confessed.

"That must have been awful. What happened?" I asked.

"It was horrible. There was all this blood coming from his eyes and from his mouth. And, uh... I saw this, um..." she stopped, looking a bit embarrassed.

"What?" I asked, pushing for information.

"I saw this shape. To tell you the truth, I don't know actually what I saw. I just know I saw it." Tara finished.

A geeky looking dude came up to Tara and handed her a snapple. "Here you go, Tara."

"Thanks Walter," she said with another smile. He walked away.

"So, this crew guy, Frank – did you know him?" I asked.

"No, not that well," she said, shaking her head.

"It's funny, it's like no one around here actually knew the guy," I said with a slight frown.

"I've got his picture," Tara said.

"You do?" I asked, surprised.

She smiled at me. "Yeah. I take Polaroids of all the crew. It's just one of those things you do to kill time on set." She pulled a binder from the table beside her and started flipping through it. "Right there," she said, stopping at a page and pointing at a photo. I leaned forward a little, something about the guy seemed really familiar. Then it hit me.

"Son of a bitch!" I said under my breath. Tara looked at me curious and I made my excuses, hurrying off the set, I needed to find Jefferson and tell him what was going on. Beth looked like she was stuck with Marty for the next few hours; already I could tell she wanted to stick pointy things in her eyes. I pulled out my phone and texted she, letting her know to stay put. She glanced over her shoulder at me, frowning and I blew her a kiss when no one was looking, then grinned and headed toward the exit.

* * *

**_Gerard St. James' Residence_**

**Dean's POV**

Jefferson and I headed up the steps to the house we'd discovered belonged to Gerard St. James. Jefferson was harping on about being careful of Beth's feelings, and blah blah blahdiblah in an English accent. He was still blahing on as I knocked on the door.

"Listen, Jefferson, Beth's a big girl, she can take care of herself." I said, turning as a man opened the door.

"Gerard St. James?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Yes," the man said with a nod.

"You're still alive. And you're not Frank Jaffey," Jefferson said to him.

"Uh, no." He confessed, looking at us both.

"You were Desert Soldier Number Four in _Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn?"_ I asked, wanting to make doubly sure I had the right guy.

"I was," Gerard confirmed.

"I knew I recognised you! I am a huge fan. I mean, your turn as a tractor crash victim in _Critters 3?"_ Gerard said the movie's name in unison with me as I mentioned it. He smiled, pleased that I seemed to know what I was going on about.

"Wow, yeah," I said, pleased that I had the right guy.

"Well, please, come in," Gerard said, waving us through the door.

We entered the house and Gerard went about bringing us coffee. I looked around, it was comfortable surroundings but modest, pictures of Gerard lined the walls in various characters and roles he'd played.

"Yeah, it was the producers," Gerard said in response to one of Jefferson's questions. "They brought me up for the day to play Frank."

"Just to fake your death?" I asked.

"Well rumours of a haunted set, free publicity, especially when you're making a horror movie. It's already all over the internet." He said.

"Yes, we know," Jefferson said stiffly.

"These days, it's all about new media, building buzz." He said to us.

"And the ghost Tara saw?" Jefferson asked, putting his coffee aside. Jefferson was British, he tended to go for the tea.

"Projected on a screen of diffusion," Gerard explained.

"Isn't that kind of cruel?" I asked, "Messing with their heads like that?"

"Hey, I just play the part. I don't write the script. Speaking of, I'm playing Willy in a dinner theatre production of _Salesman at Costa Mesa _, all next month." He said, plugging away his act. He handed me a flyer. "You get a free pepper steak with the coupon."

I nodded, then something occurred to me. "Now, wait a second. If you're seen in public, won't that ruin the hoax?" I asked.

"Oh please. Frank and Willy? Totally different characters," he said.

"Yes, well, thank you very much Mr. St. James. It was just nagging at us. But we're very glad... you know, to see that you are alive and well." Jefferson said, standing.

"Absolutely," I said to him with a nod. Gerard shook both our hands. "Hey," I said. "I wanted to ask you... what was it like working with Richard Moll?" I looked at Jefferson and he was staring at me confused. "_Metalstorm. _He was Hurok, King of the Cyclops people." Jefferson looked horrified at mention of cyclops people in a movie.

"Gentlemen's gentleman." Gerard said, and I nodded.

"Yeah?" I asked. I chuckled and then looked at the coupon in my hand. "All right. Pepper steak!" I looked at Jefferson and the man rolled his eyes at me, leading the way out of the house.

* * *

**_Stage 9 Movie Set_**

**Beth's POV**

We were on to yet another take of the same scene. The actors playing Mitch and Kendra were filming in the abandoned warehouse on set.

"When we read from that book, we must have brought them back. Back from Hell!" Mitch said. I noticed one of the crew grimace while Kendra gave her line. "It doesn't matter. We're not going anywhere until we find Wendy and her sister. Got it? Now let's get busy."

"Cut!" McG called out to everyone. "Very nice."

"No good for sound. I'm getting some kind of feedback," the guy I'd seen a moment ago said. Everyone around me sighed.

"Another costly sound delay. All right, we're going again for sound, people!" Someone shouted.

"Thank you!" the sound guy called back.

"No, no, look. It's a great scene, really dynamite. But I've still got a few... not problems, just questions," Brad was saying.

"Like what?" McG asked, annoyed with the man.

"Well, for one, the rules aren't really landing for me. Like, the kids do this Latin chant, and that makes the ghosts show up?" Brad asked, and McG nodded.

"Yeah?"

"See," Brad continued, "but if the ghosts are in Hell, how do they hear the chanting? I mean, what do they have, super-hearing? It's a logic bump. The rules don't track." I almost snorted and thought to myself, _the Supernatural doesn't always make perfect logical sense. _I held my tongue though, after all – it was just a movie.

McG rolled his eyes. "Marty, you're the writer," he said, looking over at Martin who was half-listening, and half talking to me about some of the things he'd enjoyed while in the Australian outback filming.

"What if I throw in an explainer?" He said without missing a beat.

"Yeah, that'd be super. Excuse me, I've gotta check some messages," Brad said. He left and McG rolled his eyes at us both.

"Suits!" He muttered.

Brad wandered off to another area of the set and production resumed again on the film.

"When we read from that book, we must have brought them back. Back from Hell!" Mitch said.

"But I don't understand. If they were in Hell, how could they hear our chanting?" Kendra said, going with the new lines.

"They must have super-hearing!" Mitch said.

Suddenly the ceiling of the abandoned house caved in, and I jumped a little, not having expected it. The actors screamed and ran off the set. Marty jumped too, in fact, everyone did and I realised, this wasn't part of the act. It was especially more obvious when we realised that Brad was hanging from a noose.

Dean and Jefferson collected me from the set, and I was relieved to be leaving. It wasn't over though.

"Rose!" Marty called out, jogging after us as we were leaving. I bit my lip and then turned to smile at him.

"Hey, so I was wondering. I know it might seem a little odd... especially given that someone just died and all... but I was hoping maybe you'd like to have dinner?" He asked. I hesitated, trying to think of a way to get out of the idea. Right at that moment Tara walked past making eyes at Dean, he smiled back at her and I saw red.

"Yeah sure, why not?" I said, and Dean turned to look at us. "Tell the man where I'm staying please," I said to Dean, and then turned on my heel and walked out. I stopped and looked back at Marty who was standing there like he didn't believe I'd said yes. "Pick me up at 7!"

Jefferson escorted me to the car with a chuckle. "You know you really shouldn't tease Dean like that." He said.

"Why not?" I asked with a smirk, opening the passenger door of the Impala. "He's a big boy, he can take it. Why should he be the only one who gets to flirt? Maybe it'll teach him a lesson."

Jefferson rolled his eyes and shook his head, getting in the back seat. "You two are some of the most incredibly stubborn people I've ever worked with... aside from John of course." I snorted, he hadn't seen anything yet.

* * *

**_Outside Motel Room_**

**Beth's POV**

My "date" with Martin had gone quite well, as far as dates went. I had managed to steer us clear of any famous people or paparazzi because the last thing I wanted to do was run into anyone else who thought they knew me, or have my picture show up in the latest TV rag out there.

We had just made it back to the motel room and there was the awkward moment right before you said good night. _Do you kiss them? Shake their hand? Say you had a good time?_ Martin went in for the kiss, and I froze, not sure what I should be doing. What would Rose do? I didn't know anything about her; she could be married for all I knew! Marty's lips got closer and closer, I pulled back slightly and then to my relief, the door opened.

Dean stood in the entrance, looking out at us and he cleared his throat loudly.

"Oh," Martin said, looking over at him. "Your PA stays with you in your suite?" He asked, curious.

"Uh, yeah, well not always – only at certain times of my schedule, I've been really swamped lately; he knows how to get me to … relax!" I said pathetically, and smiled to try and hide the ridiculous reasoning.

"That's right. Above and beyond, that's my job." Dean said with a smirk. "That's why she pays me the big bucks," he said, turning stern eyes to me.

"Right, well I should probably get some sleep," I said, looking at my watch. It was almost ten o'clock.

"You're coming to the set tomorrow morning?" Martin asked.

"You'll continue filming?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you know what they say – the show must go on." Martin said with a shrug. "It's what Brad would have wanted." I nodded, speechless.

"She'll be there," Dean answered for me, and then pulled me inside with a curt "Good night." He shut the door behind us, pushing me into the wall.

"How was dinner?" He asked, leaning in close.

"Fine. Yours?" I asked, looking up at him. I really wanted to mess with him, but I was tired, and I hated playing these games at the best of times. All I wanted to do was go to bed, and have Dean with me, no messing around.

"Room service here is great." Dean said quietly, looking at me. I reached up a hand and stroked it along his face.

"I missed you," I said quietly, letting him see the honesty in that statement bleed through in my eyes.

He sighed and leaned his forehead to mine. "Me too," he said back, then kissed me softly, his hands coming up to frame my face as he angled my head up.

"Can we go to bed please? I'm so tired," I said to him, he smiled and nodded.

"The bed is great too!" He grinned, pulling me down the little hallway into the suite. It was like a small house, a kitchen with open plan living room and dining opened up to a balcony outside where there were lounge chairs looking out over the city lights. Jefferson was bundled up on the couch watching some old movie on the big screen TV, he looked up as we entered.

"Hey, did you have a good night?" He asked with an amused expression on his face.

"No!" I said, crossing my arms. He snorted at me, and lay back down on his pillow.

"Told you not to go!" He said and I groaned, throwing my hands up in the air.

Dean followed me into the bedroom and as soon as the door closed he was undressing me, kissing along my shoulder. I moaned a little at the distraction and ran my hand up into his hair, leaning back into him.

"Shhhh," Dean said into my neck, "Don't want to give Jefferson a free show," he whispered into my ear. I would have laughed if it weren't so frustrating at the same time. I just wanted to enjoy this time with Dean alone and here we were _again, _having to watch ourselves, but at least we had closed doors to hide behind this time. I suppose I could deal with that.

Dean was running his hands along my breasts, he squeezed a nipple through the fabric of my dress and I gasped at the electric thrill it sent through my body. _Just when had this man gotten so good with his hands?_ I bit my lip and retracted the mental question. I didn't want to know, just enjoy the ride.

He seemed to be doing his best to make me moan loudly and I pulled away with a cheeky grin, turning to face him. Grabbing the waistband of his pants I pulled him over to the bed, and unzipped his jeans, letting them fall to the ground. He was only standing at half-mast and I grinned, _perfect._

Dean's eyes were curious as I pushed him to the mattress, straddling him across his lap as his legs dangled off the bed. I took my time, hands running along his hard abs, tracing the lines there. I removed his t-shirt and sat back to admire the Adonis before me. I didn't get to do this much either, kind of hard to when John was always around. Whatever little pleasures we did find were often in the dark, under the covers, hidden in the wee hours of the early morning. This was a welcome change.

The lights were too much, so I got up to dim them, using the switch by the door. Dean lay on the bed watching me silently. Hungry eyes following my every move. I slipped out of the dress I'd worn to dinner, letting it fall to the ground, knowing just how good my lingerie set looked, especially in the dim lighting which made everyone look better. He took in a sharp breath and I saw his interest pique before me, coming to attention.

I grinned and prowled over to the bed, resuming my position over him. I trailed hot kisses along his neck and down his chest, taking a nipple in my mouth and clamping down on it softly. Dean gasped and arched his back against my mouth, his head rolling back into the mattress. I grinned, that was exactly the reaction I had been looking for.

"Shhhh," I whispered up to him, teasing him with his own words from earlier. He groaned again but this time a little quieter.

I trailed my tongue along his side, tasting the soft skin that I loved to run my hands along. Tonight I explored the same area with my lips and tongue, nipping and leaving kisses as I slipped lower and lower on his body. Dean looked up at me when he realised where I was heading, his hazel eyes were dark from unspoken desire. I smiled innocently at him and then blew a soft breath along his shaft, it twitched from the incredibly light sensation and Dean laid his head back with another small groan.

Encouraged, I settled in between his legs, running my hands along his thighs as I experimentally traced along his shaft with more light blowing. This was one thing I did have some idea about doing, although it had been a long time since I'd played around with my old teenage boyfriend Travis. My father would have killed me if he'd known what we got up to in the old town movie theatre when no one else was watching. Now I was just glad that I wasn't completely new to any of this.

Dean was watching me again, and I grinned up at him as I licked along his shaft from base to tip in one long drawn out motion. When I reached the top I swirled my tongue around the tip, before dropping to the base again and repeating the movement. Dean looked as if he'd stopped breathing, his arms lying beside him as he fought not to cry out from the sheer pleasure. I'd never done this to him before.

Slipping his tip into my mouth, I focused on it for a moment, swirling my tongue around, and massaging the shaft with my lips. Dean gasped again, his hands bunching in the sheets as he arched involuntarily at the touch. I slid him further into my mouth, slowly and carefully so as to avoid a gag reflex. When I hit the base of him with my lips I sucked on him a couple of times like a lollypop, this got an audible moan out of him, and he bucked against me.

My hands I trailed up along his abs, just loving the feel of him pushing up against me as I went to work, moving along his shaft, sliding him in and out, my lips I kept firmly around him, dragging them along the soft, engorged skin. I swirled my tongue around his tip whenever I reached the top, then slid back down and sucked, gliding up again, another flip of the tongue, only to repeat with a hard suck.

The movement was rhythmic and deliberate, I looked up to see Dean's eyes were clenched shut and his face was buried to the side in a pillow. He was breathing heavy and thrusting against my hands, trying not to jerk up whenever I got to the suck. He was trying so hard not to force the issue and just let me have control.

As his breathing reached an erratic point, I changed it up a little; this time when I slid down I took one of his balls into my mouth with an extremely gentle care.

"Oh God," Dean groaned, pulling a pillow over his head and moaning again. I grinned to myself and sucked it as if it might melt in my mouth if I worked too long. I moved to the other one, giving it equal treatment, they started to tighten with the excitement and it was enough for me to move back to my original attentions.

Dean's breathing had slowed a bit; I took it as a challenge. Running my tongue the length of his shaft, I once more slid my mouth over his tip, circling my tongue around the glans, and gently massaging it with my lips. Dean was moaning into the pillow again, it muffled his cries a little but not entirely.

As his breathing grew more and more erratic, I felt my own excitement start to trickle down my legs, and I moaned as I pulled him all the way into my mouth. My hands found themselves trailing down his stomach and under his buttocks, holding him to me as I sucked him fully. I swallowed once, my throat and mouth constricting around his shaft and Dean bucked, his hands coming back to clutch at the sheets, eyes on me again.

I didn't like to be watched, so I flipped my tongue around his shaft a few times, keeping him inside my mouth while I did. The movement threw him into another convulsion which saw Dean's head roll back against the bed, his knuckles white from the strain of not calling out his excitement. Feeling a little less self-conscious, I could now begin the final stage of bringing him to his finale.

Right now it was more about consistent, rhythmic movement, and I listened to his sharp intakes of breath, using his body movements to gauge the pace. Slowly at first I slid him in and out of my mouth, the same long trailing tongue and lips combination bringing a startled breath from him as he got higher and higher. As his breathing quickened, coupled with little sighs, so did my pace and I drew him into me, bit by bit, moment by moment.

His hips started to jerk under me, and I heard a soft hitch in his breath, short gasps coming as suddenly his hands buried in my hair, holding my head in place. I froze, unsure about what he wanted and he relaxed his hold on me realising I had startled. He didn't remove his hands, but I had movement of my head again. "Oh Beth, don't stop," he moaned, and I resumed my pace. It wasn't long until he was quivering under my touch.

When he reached his peak, he let out a long low groan, and thrust his hips up at me a little, I pulled him all the way in, letting my throat constrict around him as I swallowed and sucked on his entire erection. He convulsed underneath me, jerking up and I felt his release come, pumping into me. I swallowed, pushing him further into my mouth, as far as I could bear without gagging. He clutched at my hair and it felt wildly erotic to feel his hands on me like that, holding me to him.

He moaned, softly this time, falling lifeless back on the bed. I felt him soften in my mouth and gave another quick little suck earning a groan of protest from Dean. Grinning I slipped him out of my mouth and kissed along his thighs, up over his abs to his heaving chest where I splayed my hands and gently massaged the skin. I buried my nose into the crook of his neck, lying at his side, feeling the heat pulsing from his body. He rolled into me a little, pulling me close.

"That... was amazing," he murmured into my hair and it brought a smile to my face. "Where on earth did you learn to do that?" He asked suddenly, a slightly jealous tone underlying the comment.

I looked up at him and he was staring at me as if seeing a new facet to me he hadn't seen before. "Well, you know, like I said. I've had boyfriends in the past you know." I said to him, and his eyes darkened with the jealousy. I giggled at the thought of Dean Winchester, sex god who had slept with more than his fair share of girls getting jealous over me and my little list.

"I'm joking," I said, to save his manhood. "Girls magazines and romance novels can be incredibly descriptive, and give lots of good tips... I'm a fast learner," I said with a grin. He seemed to like this answer and rolled me, pinning me to the mattress with a long, lingering kiss.

"Your turn," he said with a cheeky grin, starting to kiss along my neck. I moaned and pulled the pillow over my head. I'd just spent ages torturing him, I knew from experience that I could look forward to the same from him. I groaned before he'd even reached my stomach with his kisses. Oh this was going to be sheer torture, and I knew it.

* * *

**_Stage 9 Movie Set_**

**Beth's POV**

We took our time getting to the set in the morning. I was supposed to be a movie star, I didn't do 6am starts. Dean wasn't leaving my side, and he was still grinning like a Cheshire cat, it was slightly unnerving. Still, the night had been a highlight of our very brief relationship so far, I had to admit that.

When I arrived the actors were filming again, starting with where they had left off the day before.

Tara's character Wendy entered the house, looking around in the shadows for her friends.

"Wendy?" Mitch asked, surprised.

"Oh, Mitch! God, you're alive!" Wendy said, throwing herself into his arms.

"You can't get rid of me that easy," he said, holding her to him.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble!" McG called out from his director's chair. The set came to life and the floor started to move underneath them.

"Salt. Ok, we need salt," Wendy said. "I read in that book that it keeps ghosts away." She glanced frantically about the house, looking for some.

"Kendra, Logan, you guys check the back," Mitch said to their friends.

Martin was behind me, whispering to Jay, one of the other producers.

"Jay, the poor bastard killed himself. Like, for real. Shouldn't we shut it down or something?" Martin asked.

"We had a moment of silence for him at breakfast. He was just a studio guy," Jay said.

"Shhh!" McG said to them, looking back from behind the camera as the filming continued.

"I love you," Wendy said to Mitch.

"I know," he said. The actor playing Mitch shone his flash-light directly in Tara's eyes and she flinched, breaking character.

"Sorry," He said, and I smirked. It wasn't easy keeping your flash-light out of people's eyes, we all had it down to a fine art by now, but I had been a total klutz at it when I first started going into dark and dangerous places with the Winchester's.

"Can we cut or something?" Tara asked, breaking out of character completely.

"Uh... yeah, cut. Cut!" McG called out.

Dean was wearing a headset he'd stolen off someone and he got excited at the announcement. "That's a cut!" He called out and then promptly shoved a taquito into his mouth. I shook my head at him, rolling my eyes.

McG got up and approached Tara. "Hey, what's up?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little upset." She said, running her hand through her hair.

"Well, with everything that's been going on around here, who can blame you?" McG said to her.

"I just can't wrap my head around the dialogue, you know? Salt? Doesn't that sound silly? I mean, why would a ghost be afraid of salt?" She asked. Beside me Dean smirked and continued to munch on his taquitos.

McG nodded, and turned toward us. "Okay, um, Marty?" McG said to the man sitting beside me.

"Yo," Martin said back to him.

"What do you think?" McG asked.

"Not married to salt, what do you want? We still sticking with condiments?" He asked and I had to fight to keep myself from laughing.

"If just sounds different, not better. What else would a ghost be afraid of?" McG asked. Walter, one of the other PAs muttered to himself from next to Dean.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," he said, shaking his head.

"What would a ghost be scared of? Maybe shotguns?" Marty asked Jay. I thought about our latest invention, rock salt infused ammo, to be used with shotguns – and suddenly the idea didn't sound as crazy as first appeared.

"OK, that makes even less sense than salt," McG said to Marty.

"These people are idiots," Walter said, and he turned and walked out.

Jefferson came up to us and Dean turned around. "Walter's a little testy for a PA, huh?"

"How's it going in here?" Jefferson asked casually, leaning against a pole and crossing his arms. He had this way of just being present, and comfortable, and yet blending in so that people didn't pay him too much attention at the same time.

"It is going really good, man. Tara's really stepped up her performance. I think it's probably from all the sense memory stuff she's drawing on." Dean said.

"Sense memory?" I asked sceptically, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Dean, you know, I ask how it's going in here, I'm talking about the case right?" Jefferson said, his voice getting a little impatient. "We don't really work here."

"I thought you hated being a PA," I said to him.

"I don't know. It's not so bad. I kind of feel like part of the team, you know?" He said, holding out his plate to me. "Taquito? They're wonderful." I had a sneaky suspicion it was more about the food than anything else with Dean.

"OK, well listen, I conned my way into the morgue," Jefferson said.

"And?" Dean asked.

"News reports were right: Brad's a doornail, no question." He said, confirming that this time we were indeed dealing with a real dead person, unlike the last publicity stunt.

"Copy that.." Dean said into his headset. He looked at Jefferson. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Copy that?" Jefferson asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What did you say?" Dean asked.

"The news reports were right. Brad's a doornail.." Jefferson repeated himself.

Dean interrupted again. "They are aware." He said into his headset.

"Who's aware?" Jefferson asked me, looking confused. I shrugged.

"Don't ask me, he's been like this all morning," I muttered, shaking my head and sinking into my chair.

"I'm sorry," Dean said to Jefferson again. "What were you saying?"

"Uh..the newspaper is right: Brad's dead. No question about it." Jefferson said for the third time.

"I guess it's a good thing we didn't skip town then," Dean said, looking at me.

"Yeah," I muttered.

"Oh, come here. I want you to hear something," Dean said to Jefferson. I'd already heard it and I was convinced there was something more to the recording than what was being explained as bad feedback.

Dean took Jefferson to the audio guy. "Hey Dave, can you play him that thing you were playing me earlier?" Dean asked.

"Sure," Dave said with a shrug, handing Jefferson a set of headphones. I watched as Jefferson listened to the recording – half way through the dialogue the sound would become staticky and distorted. I knew when he'd reached it because he looked up, exchanging a curious glance with me.

"EVP," Jefferson said to us later when we were backstage.

"From the night of Brad's stage dive. All of a sudden, I'm getting electromagnetic readings up the wazoo. For some reason, it's a legit haunting now." Dean said, frowning and running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Well, who's the ghost, Dean? What's it want?" I asked.

"I don't know. I think we should take a look at Brad's death scene." Dean said, and Jefferson nodded at the suggestion.

* * *

Dean led us outside to one of the trailers. Once inside he popped a DVD into the television.

"Hey, where'd you get this DVD?" I asked, leaning forward.

"They're called dailies. I got it from Cindy. She's kind of got this on-and-off thing going with Drew. He dubbed me an extra copy." Dean said, I shook my head, amazed at the stuff he could dig up, sometimes without even trying.

We watched the footage from the day before, including the unexpected entrance into the film.

"All right, here's where the guy fell through the roof." Dean said.

"Right," Jefferson said, nodding.

The footage showed Brad crashing through the ceiling of the set, hanging by a noose.

"Hey, wait, go back, go back," Jefferson said, pointing at the screen. Dean skipped back and played the film again. "Right after. Right. Wait. There." Dean paused and we were looking at a completely different set and standing in the far corner of the set is a ghostly white woman.

"It's like _Three Men and Baby _all over again." Dean muttered. I looked at him confused.

"What's your point?" I asked.

"There's a scene in the movie where people say that the camera caught a ghost on film. Apparently, in the background of one of the scenes, there was this boy that nobody remembers from set. Spirit photography." Dean explained.

"I've seen her before," Jefferson said thoughtfully, staring at the screen.

Moments later we were back in the studio, sitting at a table. Jefferson showed us a print out of an article.

"Check this out," he said. "Elise Drummond - starlet back in the thirties. Had an affair with a studio exec. He uses her up, fires her, leaves her destitute, so Elise hangs herself from Stage 9's rafters, right into a scene they're shooting."

"Just like our man, Brad. So, what, she's got it in for the studio brass?" Dean asked.

"Possibly. I mean, it's a motive. And Brad's death matches hers exactly." Jefferson said. I sighed and looked at Dean.

"We're digging tonight, aren't we?" I said. Jefferson nodded and Dean patted me sympathetically on the shoulder. I hated digging up graves at night time.

* * *

**_Hollywood Forever Cemetery _**

It was dark, as it always seemed to be when we went to dig up graves. The three of us were carrying shovels as we worked our way through the graves surrounding us.

"Which way?" Dean asked, and I glanced down at my map, handing him my shovel.

"Uh... over here." I said, leading the way. I stopped and grinned at Dean, and he paused.

"Look." I said, pointing at an honest to goodness grave for _Humpty Dumpty. _

Jefferson looked horrified and shook his head. Dean was grinning from ear to ear. "This map was totally worth the five bucks!" He exclaimed. "Hey, we've gotta go check out Johnny Ramone's grave when we're done here." He said.

"You wanna dig him up too?" I asked sarcastically.

"Bite your tongue heathen!" Dean said to me in a stern tone.

"You know guys, what I don't get is why now? I mean, after seventy-five years, Elise Drummond suddenly goes homicidal, you know? Why this movie?" I said, thinking out loud.

"Well, maybe she's mad they're making a scary ghost flick." Dean offered.

"Come on, is it really that scary?" I asked sceptically and Jefferson laughed.

We stopped in front of a headstone and I gestured. "Here we are."

We started digging and it was pretty straight forward from there. No ghost arrived to try and stop us, no security guard came and surprised us, Elvis didn't walk up and say 'hi'. Once we found the bones, they were salted and burned, and our work was done.

* * *

**_Stage 9 Movie Set_**

**_Next Morning_**

We found out the next morning that Jay had been killed over night. It had happened in a very gruesome way.

"Run-in with a giant fan. Same thing happened to an electrician back in '66, a guy named Billy Beard." Jefferson said to us.

"What the hell dude?" Dean asked, looking a little grossed out.

"I don't know. Doesn't seem like Elise this time, either. It's not her M.O." Jefferson said with a shrug.

"No, we already torched her. So, what, are we dealing with another ghost?" Dean said.

"Maybe," I said with a shrug.

"Yeah but these things don't usually tag-team," Jefferson said with a frown.

Outside in the lot McG had gotten out of his car. He gathered everyone, cast and crew together, and we lingered with the others.

"Everybody! Gather around, okay! I've got an announcement to make." He said, handing his keys over to a PA. "Hold that for me." He raised his arms in the air. "Everyone! Huddle in! In light of Jay's accident last night, and in cooperation with the authorities, we're shutting down production for a few days. I know, I know. Look, I'm not gonna lie to you. We've had a few setbacks this week. But we all know what Jay and Brad wanted more than anything. And that was to see Hell Hazers 2: The Reckoning on screens all across America! Now, we owe it to them to go on and to pull together and make this damn movie, huh?"

The speech was quick, and met with cheers and applause from the crowd.

"But not today. Go home. Someone will call you." McG finished, waving everyone off.

* * *

Later on Jefferson was back inside watching more of the dailies. We found him watching a piece of footage where Tara is struggling through her Latin.

"Hey," I said to him as I reached the screen.

"Hey," Jefferson said in a friendly tone. "So, you find out where the electrician's buried?"

"He wasn't. Billy Beard was cremated." Dean answered with a frown. Which of course posed the question – how was he haunting the set if his bones were already toast?

"Great, any suggestions what to do now?" Jefferson asked.

"No idea. Anymore ghost cameos in the dailies?" Dean said, looking at the screen.

"Not in the first six hours. You know, maybe the spirits are trying to shut down the movie because they think it sucks. Because, I mean, it kind of does." Jefferson said with a chuckle.

I was listening to Tara on the screen; she was reading the Latin again, if you could call it that. I hadn't caught it the first time because she really just was that bad at it. But something caught my attention. I rewound to the same part and listened closer.

"Listen to the invocation. Guys – that's the real deal – a necromantic summoning ritual." I said, eyes widening as I looked up. "What the hell is that doing in a Hollywood movie?"

We went looking for Martin. I found him in his office on the phone.

"No, dude, we're down for a few days - force majeure... Yeah. It's cool, though. Gives me time to pitch that time-travel thing. …. Yeah. All right, get back to me on this, all right? Seriously. ….. No, I'm serious. ….Dude, are you serious? 'Cause I'm serious." He looked up and smiled when he saw me at the door. I shifted uncomfortably at the attention. He'd been completely aloof the day after the date and I had been a little obsessed with Dean, so I hadn't thought too long and hard about it. "All right. Cool," he said, hanging up. "Rose... we're all shut down. What are you still doing here?"

"Yeah, uh... sorry, Marty. I couldn't help myself. I just had to tell you that I read the script." I said to him. He looked at me surprised and happy at the same time.

"And?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's uh, it's awesome." I said with a smile.

"I know, it's pretty rockin' right? I'm glad you liked it!" Marty said, coming around to stand in front of me.

"Yeah, I really liked the attention to detail." I said to him with a nod.

"Color me guilty, but that is me. I'm a total detail buff." He said to me with a grin.

"No, I can tell. I mean, the way you worked in all those Enochian summoning rituals and all the authentic language." I said, and his face fell, the smile fading. I realised that I had said the wrong thing.

"What, you mean that Latin crap? No, that's Walter. Walter Dixon, the original writer. You like that garbage?" He asked.

"Wait, Walter the PA, Walter?" I asked, looking confused

"No, he's not a P.A. He's got a clause in his contract that allows him to come on set." Martin said, frowning at me.

"But he wrote the invocations?" I asked.

"He wrote a whack-job screenplay. There's no pace, there's no love interest, it's all wackadoo exposition. I had to cut, like, ninety percent of it to make it readable, the other ten percent to make it good."

"Huh, well you did a great job Marty, it's the best." He smiled at me and my phone started ringing. It was Dean, I took the call, pretending it was my agent and excusing myself.

* * *

Dean looked sternly at me when I came out, I nodded. "Your buddy Walter has some explaining to do," I said.

An hour later we had tracked down an original script, the one Walter had written. It was called _Lord of the Dead. _

"Should've kept Walter's original script. It's actually pretty good." Dean said.

"Yeah. And it reads like a how-to manual of conjuration, like a textbook on how to summon ghosts and get them to do whatever you want." I said, looking at another page and grimacing.

"Yeah, like kill people." Dean said.

"Yep. So, let's say somewhere down the line, Walter learned some pretty black magic." I said, pacing in front of him, I didn't really like where this conversation was going.

"Yeah. And let's say he's pissed at these people for wrecking his movie." Dean said with a nod.

"Motive and means," Jefferson said, taking a seat in one of the director's chairs near us.

"It's worth checking out," Dean said.

Dean was loading up the gun with the new ammo we'd come up with while I'd been in recovery mode.

"Think this is gonna work?" I asked nervously, looking at the casings that contained rock salt.

"Of course it'll work, it was your idea." He said with a smile, leaning over to kiss me. "No time like the present to try them out."

I nodded nervously, but didn't argue. We closed up the Impala, and went in search of Walter.

We found him in amongst a forest setting at Stage 9 with Martin.

"You know, the history, the lore in my draft was completely accurate. We could've gotten it right for the first time ever in this whorehouse of a town. But you tore it to shreds. You replaced it with cleavage and fart jokes. It was real." Walter said to Martin, who was looking confused.

"Who gives a rat's ass about "real"? We're talking about ghosts here, Walter. There's no such thing." Martin said.

"That's where you're wrong, Martin." Walter said. He held up a talisman and started chanting in Latin, it was flawless, and he knew what he was doing. Martin rolled his eyes at Walter.

"Okay, nutjob. End of the meeting." I watched as he turned and came face-to-face with a ghost. Martin screamed at the sight and fell to the floor. He started to get dragged back toward the giant fans that had killed Jay – they were suddenly working and droning at us menacingly.

"Oh, God, no! Please, no!" Martin cried out and we were moving, shotguns in hand.

"You ruined it, Martin! Everything I worked for!" Walter yelled. "Now you're gonna find out what being a ghost is really like."

"Walter, please! Walter, help me!" Martin called out.

Dean rushed ahead of me, and pointed the shotgun at the spirit, firing. Instantly it disappeared in a puff of smoke. Dean turned and grinned at me. "Hey it worked!" I smiled and turned off the fan, relieved.

"You are one hell of a PA!" Martin said as Dean helped him to his feet.

"Yeah, I know," Dean said with a chuckle.

"What are you doing?" Walter asked us, staring.

"I could ask you the same thing Walter," I said, walking up to him. Walter scampered off, climbing the stairs to the scaffolding.

""Raising these spirits from the dead? Making them murder for you? That's playing with fire, Walter." I said, following him.

"You don't understand!" Walter said.

"You know what? You're right, I don't understand." I said, shaking my head.

"Just... wait, look. You put your heart and soul into something, years of hard work. It's years, and then they take it! And they crap all over it! And then they want you to smile and say, "Thank you"." Walter was rambling, completely convinced of his argument.

"Walter, listen. It's just a movie. That's it." I said, reaching out to him.

"Look... I've got nothing against you, you're a great actress. You're not part of this. Just please, please, just leave. But Martin's gotta stay." He said, looking over at the screenwriter.

"Sorry, can't do that. It's not that we like him or anything, it's just a matter of principle." Dean said.

"Then I'm sorry, too." Walter said, raising the talisman again.

"Walter. Walter, pl- don't." I said, trying to connect to the guy.

He began chanting and the set was shaking under our feet. To the side of me three ghosts appeared, looking cold and menacing.

"Beth!" Dean shouted to me and raised his gun. The ghosts, all looking deformed in one way or another, started to walk closer. "Come on! Come on!" Dean muttered and I looked around, I was cut off from Dean by them.

Suddenly they disappeared, and I was knocked to the floor by an invisible force. I found myself panicking, it had only been 10 weeks since a poltergeist threw me out a window, and here I was about to be killed by a couple of ghosts. Right when my life had started to pick up!

Jefferson reached my side, pulling me to my feet with a look of concern. "Come on, come on, move!"

Martin was with us and we started to run away from the ghosts, Dean following close behind. Lights on the set started to crack and sizzle as they burst one after the other We ran into another building and shut the door behind us. Dean reloaded the shotgun and grinned at me.

"Come out to the coast! We'll get together, have a few laughs!" He said, quoting John McClane from _Die Hard _down to a tee. I laughed and kissed him quickly, Martin gaped at the display of affection. We loved those movies.

Dean looked around and then realised we didn't actually have any shelter; the house we were in was just an abandoned set and was open at the back.

"Oh man!" Dean said looking at the gaping hole behind us.

"I can't believe this. Ghosts are real!" Martin said, looking astounded. He was staring at me as if wondering just how it was that a big shot movie star like me was going along with all this.

"What makes you say that?" Jefferson asked sarcastically.

"But I don't understand. How is Walter controlling them?" Martin asked.

"Probably that talisman," I said, looking at Jefferson and Dean, they nodded.

Jefferson had pulled out his phone and was holding it in front of him.

"What are you doing?" I asked him, frowning.

"If film cameras pick these things up, then... maybe..." Jefferson used his camera to scan the room we were in. Suddenly he flinched and pointed.

"Dean! Right there!" He said. Dean didn't question, just aimed and shot in the direction that Jefferson pointed.

"Got him," Jefferson confirmed. I hoisted my own shot gun up and looked around. Jefferson continued to look around with his phone. "There! Right there!" He said. This time I fired and the ghost disappeared.

I was feeling sore from the knock I'd received, my side aching again. I grimaced and put a hand to it. Dean tossed me a worried look. We spotted Walter on a walkway above us and Jefferson handed his phone to Martin.

"Here, you got the idea?" He asked, and Martin nodded. "All right, you hold them off. I'm going after Walter." Just like that he bounded across the room up the ladder to the next lot of scaffolding.

"I cannot believe there's an afterlife!" Martin said incredulously.

"Oh there's an afterlife, all right. But mostly, it's a pain in the ass," Dean said, complaining.

It wasn't long before Jefferson reached Walter up on the second level. I watched in combined horror and fascination as Jefferson stalked up to him, and they exchanged words. Walter ran out the door and out a back exit. Dean, Martin and I ran for the exit while Jefferson followed him. We reached them after another exchange was had between Jefferson and Walter. The next thing I knew Walter had thrown the talisman on the ground, breaking it. I looked at Dean and he shared my expression of horror.

"Oh I wouldn't have done that if I were him," Dean said.

"Why not?" Martin asked, looking at him.

"Because he just freed them, we can't stop them now. And he brought them back, made them murder for him. They're not going to be very happy with him." I said.

Suddenly Walter fell to the ground screaming in pain. Blood began to seep through his clothing he was wearing. Martin raised the cell phone to look and grimaced at the sight before him. I didn't want to see, I just didn't want to know.

* * *

**_Later That Day_**

Martin had rewritten the script of the movie. It now had cellphones as ghost detectors, and shotguns with rock salt to fight them with. He was loving the new direction of the movie, and things were definitely looking up for him. I'd rolled my eyes at the idea and how quickly Martin had been to jump on and take advantage of how we'd saved him – milking it for his own profit.

Dean and I slunk out of the trailer with satisfied looks on our faces. We'd taken full advantage of the seemingly abandoned trailer and escaped for a few hours once the immediate danger had subsided.

Martin happened to be walking by as we exited; he saw us and stopped, looking at me curiously.

"Wow, you are one hell of a PA," he said to Dean, clearly referencing the fact that in the last 24 hours Dean had saved his life AND now was sexually servicing the actress he thought I was.

"Thank you," Dean said with a smirk. I laughed and shook my head.

"Hey Rose, it's been really nice seeing you again," Martin said, dismissing what he'd just seen. I stepped down and nodded, starting to walk with Dean.

"So, I have a friend who's making this remake... it's gonna be huge!" Martin said. I inclined my head.

"Oh yeah?" I said.

"Yeah! And I think you'd be great for the role of the temple priestess!" He said.

I looked at him with a shocked expression. "You want me to play a whore?" I asked.

He looked stunned. "No! No, no, no! Not that type of temple priestess. _The _temple priestess. Briseis." I stared at him, the name familiar to me; it was one of my favourite classical stories.

"Your friend is making a movie about _Troy?" _I asked, and he nodded enthusiastically.

"You'd be playing opposite Brad Pitt!" Martin said. I liked the idea of that and threw a grin at Dean.

"I see, well, it sounds intriguing Marty. Have him call my office and set up a reading." I said, and then I stepped back and took Dean's arm.

"Yeah, ok! Thanks again Rose! Take care!" I waved at him and chuckled as we walked away.

"Man, that'll be so funny if he really does call her." Dean said with a laugh.

"Stranger things have happened," I agreed, smiling.

"God I love this town!" Dean said, walking me into the sunset, his arm wrapped tightly around me. He held me and I laid my head on his shoulder as we walked. Suddenly the sunset rippled in front of us and moved to the side, revealing instead the rooftops of Hollywood before us. It was all a set and we were leaving it behind. Back to the real world for us, and not a moment too soon.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _All Star _by Smash Mouth

* * *

If anyone has any ideas for little one-shots, I'm all ears, please leave them in a review or send me a PM – I'm likely to do them all at some point! Someone gives me an idea and I'm just running with it most of the time.

* * *

OK short one next time, I'm still away, I just happened to get most of this done last night before I left. My sleep deprived brain thanks you for any reviews/PMs you leave :D

* * *

Big thanks to EarthhAngel, as always for bouncing ideas off, lots of laughs, and proofreading :D Go check out her story _How To Save A Life _for John & Cole action, plus some Dean & Beth pre-relationship stuff too (set about 3 months before this story)

* * *

I couldn't resist putting in a little comment around Rose Byrne, she's the actress I've had in mind since pretty much the beginning for Beth. I love her! This would have been around the time she played Dorme in _Star Wars Attack of the Clones. _And who could resist the idea that maybe Dean & Beth were responsible for her getting the part in _Troy? _haha


	21. Birthday (Mini-chapter Flashback)

**AN: Another short chapter – A look at 6 consecutive birthdays for Beth and how things change in her life. I think it's cute, hope you like it too!**

* * *

_You were born into a strange world.__  
__Like a candle, you were meant to share the fire.__  
__I don't know where we come from, and I don't know where we go.__  
__But my arms were made to hold you, so I will never let you go.__  
__Cuz you were born to chmoonnge this life.__  
__You were born to chase the light._

* * *

**BIRTHDAY**

* * *

1st August 1996 - Beth's Journal Entry – Blue Earth, Minnesota

_We're in Blue Earth, it's bittersweet in that I loved coming here as a little girl, spending time with Pastor Jim and sitting in the chapel with the giant angel statue. Everything feels a bit empty this year. I'm here with the Winchesters, not Dad. Dad is dead, and at the end of the day I am alone, I have no one who knows me like he did. I don't know what to do about the sunrise in a few days. I've never had to face it alone, I don't know if I want to, I don't know if I can. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my Dad so, so much, it's like a hole inside of me that will never be filled._

* * *

_**2**__**nd**__** August 1997 **_  
_**Blue Earth Minnesota**_**  
Dean's POV**

"Dean, can you go find Beth please and tell her dinner is ready?" Pastor Jim said, sticking his head out of the kitchen door. "I think she's in the chapel."

"Sure thing," I replied, getting up from where I'd been reading over some notes Dad had made about a case we were going to be working on in a few days. I stretched my arms over my head, moving my torso around to get the aches out of my muscles from having sat for too long. I turned my attention to Beth and what had been going on for her lately. It was her birthday tomorrow and Sammy had some cake thing lined up with Pastor Jim, I didn't really know what she'd be thinking about her first birthday with a new family. Dad was a bit self-absorbed with a few things so I guess it was up to me as usual to check on where she was at.

I crossed through the house to the doorway that opened into a back room of the chapel. It was a short cut without having to go outside and in the main entrance. The way was lit with dimmed lighting, and it was almost dark in the chapel, Beth was sitting up the front of the chapel, head bowed as she sat in the front pew, some candles flickering on the altar in front of her. I padded quietly down to the front and seated myself next to her, silent, not wanting to break her concentration.

I didn't expect to see her looking so forlorn. She was all red-eyed and her long brown hair hung in her eyes as she stared at her hands.

"Hey," I said, realising she wasn't really praying or anything. She attempted a smile at me, but it fell short. I sighed and put my arm around her shoulders and she leaned into me with a sigh.

"So… sweet sixteen tomorrow, huh?" I asked, not really knowing what to say. Deep and meaningful conversations were more Sammy's style than my own; I'd rather just beat up something than talk about it.

Beth started to sniffle against and I realised I probably should have just shut my mouth. She covered her face with her hands and tried to stifle them, but it was a futile effort.

"Hey, come on, I know it can't be easy…" I said lamely. "But you've got us." She nodded and did her best to stop crying.

"I know… it's just… oh it's stupid," she sniffed, dabbing at her eyes and nose with a bunched up Kleenex.

"Nah I'm sure it's not stupid," I said, trying to get her to open up. She looked hesitantly at me with big chocolate eyes and I threw her a smile. "Tell me."

Beth looked back down at her hands and chewed on her lip. "It's just something my Dad used to do with me every year," she said quietly. "And my Mum before that."

"What?" I asked, curious, turning to look at her.

"He used to get me up for the sunrise, and we'd watch it together," she smiled at the memory. "It was this whole 'welcome the dawn and new beginnings' theme thing. It's silly."

I shook my head at her, realising finally what had been bothering her for the past few days. "No it's not," I said quietly to her, looking up at that stupid angel statue she liked so much. I'd lost count of the amount of times I'd sat in front of this thing and cursed angels for being nothing more than figments of the imagination. But Beth believed, I have no idea why, but she did.

I squeezed her shoulders in an encouraging hug. "Well … maybe it's time for some new traditions," I said and she bit her bottom lip again, looking dubious.

"Come on," I said encouragingly. "Tomorrow won't be as bad as you think, I promise," I said to her. She smiled at me tentatively and nodded, though the nod was missing the usual enthusiasm she had for most of my comments.

"Let's get some dinner, Pastor Jim has made lasagne," I said, my stomach rumbling loudly at the thought. Beth heard it and it made her laugh, I smiled, it was good to see her a little happier; things were always a little more dreary when she was emotionally down.

As we left the chapel, I knew what I had to do tomorrow; I had to get that smile back on her face, for all our sakes.

**_August 3_****_rd_****_, 1997 (16 years old)  
Blue Earth, Minnesota  
_****Beth's POV**

_I was standing on the beach, big waves crashed down upon the rocks in front of me and there was an overwhelming feeling that I was about to get pulled out to sea. I looked around saw sheer cliff faces behind me, there was no way out, I turned in a panic, another wave crashing closer still. Then suddenly there was a voice calling out to me, and I turned to see Dean waving at me from the base of the cliffs, he was standing at a barely noticeable narrow path that curved up into the rock face. "Beth!" _

"Beth!" I groaned at the disruption to my sleep and rolled over to face the wall. I had my own bed at Pastor Jim's, it was so nice to not have to fight for the covers with Sam or Dean. "Beth, come on, wake up!" Dean's insistent voice was now coupled with a shaking of my shoulder.

"Go away…" I muttered, not wanting to get up, just wanting to bury myself in my misery.

Dean sighed and shook me again. "Come on birthday girl, up and at them." I groaned but let him pull me up. He was slipping sweatpants over my sleep shorts, and pulled one of his old hoodies I'd rehomed over my head. Finally he pulled tennis shoes over my bare feet.

"What's going on? Can't I at least get a sleep in on my birthday?" I complained, squinting at the clock. It wasn't even 6am!

"Nope, come on," Dean insisted, pulling me up and out the door. He had a little knapsack over his shoulder and was dressed for a run.

"A run? Serious Dean?" I whined, following him out the door just the same. I sighed, man John's regime was a killer. He didn't say anything, just started to walk briskly toward the road we would be following. "Where's Sam?" I asked, looking around for the young guy.

"Not coming," Dean said. "Just you and me on this run kiddo." I shook my head, wondering where we were going. It wasn't even light out yet, I seriously didn't understand John and his training ideas sometimes. I grimaced, wishing he'd had the presence of mind to have put socks on my feet before the tennis shoes. But it was too late to go back and get some now.

I followed him, my breathing evening out as we wound our way through a few back streets to Putnam Park. Dean was a few feet ahead of me and I blinked my eyes, trying to push aside my weariness from a restless night of dreaming. We ran through the park, the early morning air was crisp and vibrant, the sound of birds in the trees chirping to the growing day. It was getting lighter out and pretty soon Dean led over a bridge crossing Blue Earth River.

On the other side of the river he crossed the road to a small gravel track that led down to the riverbed. I frowned, wondering what training exercise he could possibly have in mind; I really hoped it didn't involve getting wet. He stopped at the water's edge, and I paused behind him, hands on my hips as I caught my breath.

Dean turned to look at me, a strange quirky smile on his face. "Come here," he said, indicating I should join him with a shake of his head. I hesitated, wondering what sort of trick he had up his sleeve. He saw the hesitation and laughed.

"This isn't a training exercise Beth," he said softly and I frowned.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"It's a sunrise," he said simply and it dawned on me. I bit my lip to keep it from trembling.

"Come here," he said again, and this time I joined him.

He led us over to a pile of boulders, and leaned up against a large flat one that sat out from the others. Leaning his palms flat against the rock, he pushed himself up backwards to sit on it, and I quickly followed him, curious as to what he had in mind.

The bridge framed the view in front of us like a rainbow with a curve going over the river. The river itself turned sharply as it passed the bridge toward us, allowing us dry land to be sitting in such an interesting position staring straight ahead as the sun started to peak out over the horizon. My heart leapt at the sight of the red tinged clouds spreading across the sky, and then the half circle sun starting to show itself. As the sun climbed higher into the sky the colours changed, bleeding to pinks and orange hues. I leaned shoulder to shoulder with Dean, comfortable and happy. I was happy to have my hair down because I could let it fall across my face to hide all the fresh tears that were building there.

Dean started to squirm and I almost giggled at how uncomfortable he suddenly seemed sitting here having what he would describe as a 'chick-flick moment'. He jumped off the rock, turning to me all cool, calm and collected, but there was a hint of satisfaction there, like he knew he'd just gotten something right.

"Thank you," I said quietly with a smile, the ache in my heart had disappeared just a little as I saw that sun come up, like it was saying yes, I could get through another year, and maybe even another after that. But one year at a time for now.

"Oh I'm not done yet," Dean said with a grin. I raised an eyebrow at him, tossing him a quizzical look. He reached into his knapsack and pulled out a thermos and a couple of containers of something. "It's not cake, it's better," he explained to me, handing me one of the containers, putting the other one down.

"There's something better than cake?" I asked, teasing him. I already knew his answer.

Dean looked disgustedly at me, setting two mugs on the rock and starting to pour what looked like hot cocoa from the thermos. He handed me one with a smirk and then grinned.

"Pie of course!" He answered which earned a laugh from me. I opened up the contained and inside was a huge chunk of lemon meringue pie, my favourite.

"Oh this is definitely better than cake," I said with a smile, Dean handed me a fork with a grin.

"Told ya," he said, taking a bite of his own pie while I tried some of mine. It was tart and sweet at the same time, perfect combination. I moaned my appreciation and Dean chuckled, holding out his mug of cocoa in toast fashion.

"Happy birthday," he said to me with a serious look. I couldn't help but smile, looking at those big hazel eyes staring at me. I'd never had a brother, or a sister for that matter, suddenly I felt like maybe I belonged somewhere, like maybe I had a new family; it really hadn't taken much at all to dull that ache inside of me.

We ate the rest of our pie in silence, comfortable in each other's company. When we were done Dean collected up all the containers and mugs, putting them back in the knapsack. I groaned, getting off the rock and he shook his head.

"Maybe we'll just walk back," he offered, not wanting to upset our stomachs with a run after pie and cocoa. I nodded my agreement, starting to walk back up the slight incline to the bridge. As we reached the bridge and started crossing it, Dean hurried to catch me, sliding his arm around my shoulders in a friendly embrace. He pulled me against him with a little squeeze and smiled again. I slid my arm around his waist and along the pavement looking out over the river with the sun rising above it. Light shimmered along the water, and the day was looking to be bright and cheerful.

"So… ok sunrise?" He asked, staring straight ahead before glancing down at me. I smiled up at him.

"Best one yet," I said with a grin, and he laughed, pulling me along the pavement with him.

"It's the pie," he explained. "Pie makes everything better."

* * *

**_August 3_****_rd_****_, 1998 (17 years old)  
Salt Lake City, Utah  
_****Dean's POV**

Dad and Sammy had the other bed, somehow it always fell to either Sam or me sharing the bed with Beth; Dad must have had a thing about sleeping in the same bed with his newly adopted daughter. I didn't know what that was about. Sam and Beth had fallen asleep in separate beds, this was odd because they usually shared; as such I ended up with the restless sleeper. Beth had kept me up half the night tossing and turning fitfully. I'd watched her as she rolled from one side to the other, muttering out loud occasionally. Just when she'd settle down, she'd roll onto her arm and the bandage there, and would almost awaken with a pained cry; then we'd start all over again.

Eventually around 1am I rolled over to face her, and caught her as she rolled her back to me. Her bandaged arm was safely dangling down her side, so there was no danger of her rolling on to it, and her body softened as I pulled her against me. She settled almost immediately with a sigh and her breathing became lighter and even. I had my arm around her and felt uncomfortable with the proximity, it seemed slightly wrong given that she was my sister, of sorts. But if it meant getting a good night's sleep then I was going to do it, sometimes she just needed it, Sam would hold her like this too and he never seemed to have an issue with it, but then, that was Sam. After a little while sleep claimed me too.

_We were in a derelict building; it was falling down all around us. Paint peeled from the ceiling, cobwebs clung to almost every surface. The dank smell of years of rotting timber from water damage assailed our senses. Dad was across from me, silver stake in hand. Revenants were always a pain in the ass to deal with, you had to nail them into a coffin and then bury it. Getting it into the coffin was the tricky part, because they were faster and stronger than they appeared. Beth walked through the big empty room, looking nervous. This revenant had shown a particular propensity to attack women, so she was the bait, whether we liked it or not._

_It came out of nowhere, attacking at a blinding speed. Beth spun and ducked, but it still managed to tackle her to the ground with a shrill scream. I saw Dad move before any of us, I wasn't much slower off the mark. He hit the creature dead on, ramming the stake right through its rib cage. The creature reared up and snarled, it was on top of Beth who was trying to push it off._

"_Dean! Coffin!" Dad yelled and I reached for the back of the creature getting my arms around it. It threw me off and with another snarl it pounced on Beth, and I heard a sickening shriek as it bit into her lower arm, the sweet metallic smell of blood filling the cold air around us. I grabbed it again, this time maintaining my hold and pulling it off Beth who rolled away to safety; Sammy had opened the coffin while Dad punched the creature in the face, stunning it, buying me just enough time to get my hands under its arms and lift it, carrying it the short distance to the coffin and tossing it in. Sam pulled his own silver stake out and rammed it through the torso, pinning it to the coffin floor. The creature snarled and fought while I slammed shut the coffin and locked it._

_Immediately I looked for Beth who was sitting a few feet away holding her arm, eyes wide and skin pale. Dad rushed to her side, pulling out a cloth and wrapping it around the wound, it looked nasty, _probably need a tetanus shot, _I thought with a quirky smile. "You'll be ok Bethie," Dad was saying to her, lifting her effortlessly in his arms and carrying her toward the exit._

"_You boys get that coffin in the ground!" Dad ordered us and we nodded. _

I startled awake, the image of that wound fresh in my head, _Beth! _I didn't realise it but I must have said her name out loud because she turned to look at me, eyes sleepy.

"You ok?" She asked with a yawn.

"Yeah," I said, pulling back from her a little, conscious I was clinging to her now.

"Bad dream?" She asked, looking at me a little worried.

"Yeah," I muttered, shaking my head to clear it.

She turned to face me and wrapped her arms around me, snuggling in close, her head falling on to my pillow, tucked just below my chin. "You're safe, I'll protect you," she mumbled with a giggle and I chuckled. I didn't want to admit it, but even though it made me feel uncomfortable and I didn't really want to look at why that was, feeling her pressed up against me helped ease my mind a little, at least I knew she was safe. We both fell asleep again in minutes.

Pre-dawn came way too soon for me, it had been a massive couple of days. Beth was still wrapped around me when I woke, and I extracted myself from her, moving to pull on some jeans and an over shirt over my t-shirt and boxers. I went about gathering what I now considered the essential items – apple pie this time, and hot cocoa – Beth woke up and watched me as I put everything together, a little smile on her face.

"You coming, or am I going alone?" I asked her with a grin. She hurriedly crawled out of bed and pulled on her own jeans and baggy sweater, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. We looked over at Dad and Sam, sprawled out on opposite sides of their bed and chuckled, slipping out the door.

Salt Lake City has some of the most amazing sunrises because of the Wasatch Range. I'd seen some great ones when we'd been here doing other cases as kids. This morning's sunrise was promising to live up to expectations. We took the Impala, and drove up to a lookout not far away, parking in the early morning sun to look out over the sleepy city. The sky was already on fire with bright oranges and peaches, washing along the horizon and lighting up the clouds that hung low in the atmosphere.

I silently handed Beth her pie and cocoa and she grinned. "Another good choice," she commented, I nodded back at her.

"So, another year down." I said to her. She nodded silently, thinking.

"You know," she said finally. "Even though it's been a horrible, horrible year in some regards, and I still miss my Dad terribly..." I nodded quietly, I could relate, I still missed my mom and it had been a lot longer for me. "It's been great too, I'm glad I have you guys," she said with a smile, I looked at the way she leaned casually on the Impala's hood, a lazy smile on her face, she had come a long way from the wound up fifteen year old we'd picked up in Wisconsin a few years back.

"Thank you for doing this," she said quietly. "I just thought you should know I appreciate it, you know, before I turn into the walking undead."

I frowned at her and shook my head. "Undead?"

She waved her bandaged arm around in the air as evidence that death was imminent. I rolled my eyes and chuckled.

"Would take a lot more than a bite to turn you revenant," I said to her with a laugh.

"It would be kind of ironic though wouldn't it?" She laughed back at me, I noticed for the first time just how much her eyes shone when we laughed, and my gut tightened a little bit at the thought. She was gorgeous, but she didn't know it, and I sure as hell wasn't supposed to be thinking it. I sobered a little and looked toward the sun rising in the distance, lighting up the city before it.

"I hope this year is better than the last," Beth said, resting her head against my shoulder.

"What would make it better?" I asked, curious. She paused and seemed to give it some thought.

"Honest?" She asked, looking up at me all of a sudden, I nodded.

"Teach me to work on the Impala," she said with a grin. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"You, under a hood?" I asked, sceptical. She nodded enthusiastically. "Why?" I asked.

She shrugged, the movement subtle and honest. "It's something you enjoy, and I am curious, I mean we spend the majority of our lives in her, it's the least I can do, learn to give her a basic service or something." I thought about the suggestion and grinned – I couldn't see why I couldn't give her a few lessons, it could even be fun. And least someone was showing an interest, Sammy never did.

"Done, we'll start tomorrow. Happy birthday little sister," I said to her quietly, kissing the top of her head.

* * *

**_August 2nd-3rd, 1999 (18 years old)  
Sioux Falls, South Dakota  
_****Beth's POV**

Sam was on his phone as they wheeled me into the hospital, stabbing, crippling pain shot up my side again and I cried out, clutching at the side railing of the gurney I was on. We'd been leaving the library when it had hit me, a side-splitting pain that cut right through me. Sam had panicked and called 911 right away, within half an hour I was on the way to the hospital.

"Burst appendix..." Sam was saying to John, his voice a little pitchy, but for the most part he was ok.

"Sam!" I said, reaching out for him. Suddenly I felt really scared to be left alone and I didn't know what was going to be happening to me. He reached out and grabbed my hand, keeping pace with the gurney as they wheeled me down a long corridor.

"Where are you taking her?" Sam asked the doctor.

"Your sister has a burst appendix, we need to get her into surgery right away," one of the nurses explained. Sam looking pale at the idea, none of us had ever needed surgery.

"Dad and Dean are on their way, it'll be ok Beth," Sam said, stopping short as one of the nurses pulled him away from me. I craned my neck to look back at my little brother standing in the swinging door staring at me being wheeled away.

Hazel eyes were staring intently at me as I squeezed open one eye, peeking out. The room was bright and I couldn't bare it, jamming my eyes closed again. Dean's hearty laugh sounded, and I wondered what he found so amusing.

"I'll get the curtains," he said, and I heard him move from beside the bed and the tell-tale sound of the curtain rings chinking as he pulled them closed. I tentatively looked out again and it was a lot better.

I watched him come back to sit beside me, those worried hazel eyes catching mine and taking everything in.

"I can't believe I got appendicitis. How random is that?" I asked with a sigh. Dean chuckled and nodded.

"And I'm gonna be stuck here for the next day," I sighed, looking at him with clear meaning behind my eyes. I was laid up in hospital on the eve of my birthday. Dean looked conflicted and squeezed my hand silently. There was a knock at the door and I looked up to see John and Sam standing in the door way.

"Hey Bethie, how are you feeling?" John asked me.

"Butchered," I complained, trying to sit up a little and gasping at the sharp jolt that shot through my stomach. John gave me a little chuckle and ruffled the hair on my head in an affectionate gesture.

"Well, the doctor assures me you'll be up and at things in no time," John reassured me, giving my hand a squeeze.

"She'll be fine, she's a tough cookie," a voice sounded from the hallway and I looked up to see Cole standing there with her blond-brown hair all a-glow from the light in the hallway.

"Hey Cole," I greeted her, "what are you doing here?"

"Just finishing up my shift for the day, thought I better come and see what damage you'd been doing to yourself; Sammy called me." Cole said, coming into the room and glancing at my charts at the end of the bed. She looked confident and self-assured, nodding at what she saw there. "You'll be out of here in no time," Cole said. I looked at her hopeful.

"Can I go home tonight?" I asked, disappointed when she frowned and shook her head.

"No, not that short a time frame, a day or two most likely," she said. I sighed. "Come on," Cole said with a smirk. "Hospital food isn't _that bad." _I kept my eyes looking down, forcing myself not to look at Dean who was watching the whole scene unfold without any participation.

"Yeah I know," I grumbled, looking up at her with a forced smile.

They all hung around for a while, talking and we even got in a round of poker. At 9pm the nurse came to shoo everyone away because visiting hours had finished half an hour ago and we were starting to get a little rowdy with our laughter.

Cole and Sam trailed out after a couple of kisses and hugs, leaving John and Dean in the room. I hesitated to see either of them go because I didn't want to be alone. I hadn't slept alone in years; it was suddenly a daunting prospect.

"You ok?" John asked, seeing the panic cross my face. I shook my head slowly.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked, his eyes full of concern.

I chewed on my lower lip, how to explain this one to a pair of guys who often complained about our cramped sleeping arrangements.

"You'll laugh," I said, chuckling myself. Dean and John exchanged an amused look and John leaned against the bed, crossing his arms over his chest with a smirk.

"Tell us anyway," he said with a grin.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, maybe I'm a little nervous about staying here on my own." I confessed, certain my face was turning beet red.

John looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and Dean outright snorted. "You're complaining about having your own bed for the first time in years?" I laughed and then whimpered; that really hurt. I groaned, falling back against my pillow.

"Stoppppp… it hurts!" I groaned and whimpered as I laughed harder.

John and Dean laughed with me and the nurse came back in with a stern look. John sobered at her disapproving stare and Dean shook his head.

"You want me to stay?" John asked, I nodded quietly. I didn't want to be alone.

"It's ok Dad, I'll stay, your old bones need the bed more than me," Dean said and he chuckled at John's playful glare about the age comment. Just the same, John didn't disagree. He nodded and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead.

"OK. I'll see you in the morning. Get some rest," he said, turning to leave. He gave Dean a sharp look that told him he'd better behave himself and let me sleep before leaving us alone. The nurse peeked in at us again and gave Dean a stare.

"Yeah, yeah, Nurse Ratched, you can put your nasty looks away, I ain't moving." Dean said to her and she opened her mouth in disbelief as he parked himself on the chair next to me and gave her a stony stare of defiance. Dean won the stare-off and the nurse retreated to her station, shaking her head in disbelief. Dean grinned and looked over at me.

"Get some sleep, I'll be here to get the Boogeyman if he comes out from under the bed," he said, and I actually felt better about that. It was strange being laid up like this, vulnerable to attack. With a smile I lay back and closed my eyes, worn out from the day.

The next morning Dean was up way before me, and I heard him out in the hallway conversing with someone. I opened my eyes and Cole was standing outside the room arguing with Dean. She shoved a package at him and threw her hands up in the air once he took it before stalking off down a hallway.

Dean shook his head and came in chuckling.

"What's going on? Why are you arguing with Cole?" I asked.

"I'm always arguing with Cole, you know that," Dean smirked.

"Dean..." I said warningly. He shook his head at me and rolled his eyes.

Cole came back wheeling a chair in front of her and I looked with a raised eyebrow at them both.

"This isn't a good idea," Cole said sourly. "You won't be able to get to the top with the chair."

"I'll carry her up the rest of the way," Dean said, shrugging at her.

Cole realised there was no point in arguing with him so simply nodded her head. When Dean had his head set to something there was no getting around it.

I was grinning away like a Cheshire cat and this got a laugh out of Cole who shook her head at me.

"You and your damn birthday thing," she said, but her tone was light as if she understood.

They both helped me down from the bed, getting me comfortable in the wheelchair, Cole tucking a blanket around my legs.

"Just for the record, I think this is a bad idea," she said sternly. Dean huffed at her and waved her off, she rolled her eyes and with a shake of her head she was gone.

Dean put the package from Cole on my lap, and took the handles. We were at the stairs in no time. I hesitated for the first time, not sure about this idea, but Dean was confident. He squatted next to me and looked up into my eyes.

"Ready?" He asked, and I nodded silently.

Carefully he slipped his arm around my back, and the other under my knees, first testing the weight and getting his balance. I held on to the package and leaned in to him. I felt myself hoisted into his arms with just the slightest pulling on my stitches. I hissed a little at the pain, and he hesitated. When I leaned in to him, grateful for the support his chest gave, he continued with his insane idea.

Using his foot to prop open the door, Dean carried me up the remaining lot of stairs to the rooftop where we ignored the "no access beyond this point" sign and went through. I hoped the it wasn't silently alarmed, or this trip was going to be a very short one.

Dean put me down on an air-conditioning unit, tucking the blanket around me again. It was cool in the early morning air, and he took his brown leather jacket off, tucking it around my shoulders.

"Won't you get cold?" I asked, but I noticed he had on a long-sleeved t-shirt and it wasn't that cold. He shook his head with a little smile.

"I'm ok," he reassured me. He took the package out of my hands and opened it, pulling out key lime pie. "Now, the doctor says you shouldn't be eating anything fatty or whatever for a while, but I say you just can't beat pie after surgery." Not that he'd know, but the point was still fair.

"And it's got key lime in it, so it's practically healthy," he said with a grin.

After we'd eaten our pie the wind picked up and I noticed he was starting to look cold. I pulled his jacket off and handed it back to him.

"Here, I have the blanket," I said. He shrugged into the jacket and looked at me with a cheeky grin.

"I have a better idea," he said, and I watched him curiously as he climbed up behind me, settling in behind my back, legs dangling either side of me. He pulled me back against his chest and wrapped the edges of the jacket around me in a hug. It was warm and comforting and I leaned into it with a smile.

"Happy birthday," he whispered into my ear as the sun started to peek up over the buildings of Sioux Falls, lighting up the day. Despite the surgery, I did indeed feel happy and it had nothing to do with my birthday.

* * *

_**3**__**rd**__** August 2000 (19yrs old)  
Wichita, Kansas  
Dean's POV**_

I crawled into the bed with a groan. It had been a long long day in the car, and would be another long day tomorrow as we made our way across country for a job. Tomorrow we would be knee deep in the hunt for a ghoul, a foul creature that ate the dead and took on the form of whatever it had eaten. Tonight, I just wanted to close my eyes and sleep.

Sam and Beth crawled into the other bed, getting comfortable. Dad was sitting on the couch reading by the lamp and making notes in his journal and would probably sleep there, which meant I had the bed to myself, just the same, I was conscious that sometimes Dad didn't like the couch, so I laid on my side of the bed, facing Beth.

She turned to look at me, her eyes tired but still holding that cheeky little twinkle they often did. I couldn't help but smile at her, this past year had only seen us get closer and closer, she was probably my best friend now and I could tell her anything. Well, almost anything. She kind of knew how I felt though, I just couldn't admit it to her. So I lied, to her, but mostly to myself.

Not long after her birthday last year we'd had a run of situations tossing us together, I'd even kissed her a couple of times, which she said had been a huge mistake every time. I wasn't quite so sure, I wouldn't have minded seeing where things went. I couldn't help it, my heart was constantly fighting with my head over Beth, and my head was starting to lose. She'd rejected me, October last year after a hunt for a psychopathic ghost, but I'd broken the rules, and it had nearly gotten her killed. Dad's rules rung in my mind now – no involvement with my sister.

The rejection from her, the agreement with me that we couldn't act on our feelings had pushed me to go out one night and pick up the first good looking girl that looked like Beth. It had been a great night, she'd been a great girl, but she hadn't filled the hole. Beth had been cold with me since then, back to the sister-brother relationship. It was frustrating, but maybe it was necessary. I didn't know what Dad would say if he found out about how we felt, or at least about how I felt – I wasn't so sure how she felt these days.

She drifted off to sleep, a peaceful calm crossing over her face. I loved to watch her sleep. Eventually Dad turned out the light and bed down on the couch for the night, I turned away so I wouldn't have to look at Beth any longer and tried to get some much needed shut-eye.

I felt it before I saw it, a tendril of darkness, like a shadow brushing across my face. I reached for the silver knife under my pillow and spun around, slicing at the air. My knife met nothing solid, instead swirling through a fine mist. I tried to sound a warning to the others but my throat was suddenly constricted, and I found it hard to breathe. I found myself frozen in place once I rolled over, a paralysis overtaking me. I struggled to breathe, I couldn't even see what was attacking me other than it was a shadow-like being.

I was pinned, unable to move, and this thing seemed to have no physical body whatsoever. I choked, gagging as the room started to spin around me, my eyes blurred and I was going to die, with no way to do anything about it.

"Christos," I heard Beth say in a startled voice. The pressure on my throat eased, I could see out of the corner of my eye that she had awoken and was sitting up, climbing out of bed. "The light of the Christos repels you," she said this time, looking at the figure hovering over me. It was like it hesitated. Beth shook Sam who sat up with a start. Dad was awake now too and moving for the duffel bag.

Beth reached out and flipped the light switch directly over my bed, light flooded the bed and the creature retreated to the corner where it was darkest. Dad had grabbed a container of salt and was sprinkling it around the creature, it hissed at him and made for another dark area. Beth flipped the switch off again, plunging the room into darkness. The creature became over confident and stepped toward her, but that had been the plan. Dad sealed the circle of salt behind it as Beth moved out of the way. It was stuck.

"Dean!" She was at my side, helping me to sit up. "Are you ok?" She asked worriedly. I swallowed and nodded, unable to say anything. She ran her hands over my face and down my chest as if to double check herself, seemingly happy that I wasn't bleeding to death or worse.

"What is that thing?" I asked finally, running a hand across my face.

"A Shadow Person," she said, looking back at the creature. It was pacing, if you could call it that, more like floating around and around the boundary of the salt circle, trapped.

"They're a type of spirit," Dad said to us, frowning at it. "Come from someone who died a violent death, usually by strangulation." I thought about my own brush with that and shuddered, Beth rested her hand on my thigh, she hadn't moved since she'd come over to me.

"How do we kill it?" Sam asked, arms crossed over his chest.

"Salt and burn," Dad said simply. That sounded a lot easier than it would be, who knew who this spirit belonged to.

"Or we wait for sunrise," Beth said with a smile, looking at me. Not exactly what I'd had planned for the birthday sunrise tradition.

"Sunrise?" I questioned.

"Yeah, they are shadow creatures, the light of the sun will destroy them," she said.

"Man, how do you know all this stuff?" I muttered.

"Heidi Hollis – Coast to Coast AM – she talks about them all the time," Beth remarked with a chuckle and I shook my head. I always thought the woman was a quack.

"She to thank for the _Christos _thing too?" Dad asked her and received a nod. "Well I'll be damned..." Dad was chuckling and shaking his head, I frowned, my near-death was hardly a laughing matter!

"Well, I'm getting out of here, I have no desire to be in this room with that thing any longer." I said, pulling on a pair of jeans and my boots. I grabbed my leather jacket off the end of the bed and shrugged into it, looking back at Beth.

"Want to come for a walk with me?" I asked, trying to sound casual, not like we didn't go off on our own most of the time. Beth nodded, and pulled on her own jeans, boots and jacket – the hunter wardrobe she called it. She flipped her hair over her shoulders and grinned, I already knew where we had to go, I'd spotted it on our way into town, and maybe we still had some time.

"You guys want us to grab you breakfast while we're out?" I asked, looking at Dad and Sam. Dad nodded, eyes back on the Shadow Person which was starting to fade.

I didn't need any further prompting, now we had an excuse to get out of there. As soon as we were out of sight I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a brisk jog. I figured we had about ten minutes before sun up, just enough time. Five minutes later we were standing in front of a little mom and pop diner with a big bay window that faced east, the sun was coming up over the horizon, deep purples and pinks in the sky this year. I pulled Beth in and sat her in the window opposite me at the table. Her eyes weren't on the sunrise.

A chubby little middle-aged woman with a big beaming smile came over and asked what we'd like.

"Pie," we both responded in unison, laughing at the look she gave us.

"Well you've come to the right place! I have a delicious chocolate pecan pie you're gonna love!" She beamed at us. We nodded our consent and asked for a couple of hot chocolates to go with it. Beth was still looking at me with her typical worried eyes. She reached out and cupped my cheek with her hand, sighing.

"You ok?" She asked, watching me when she should have been watching the sun. I nodded, leaning in to her touch a little.

"Yeah I'm fine, don't worry." I said to her, smiling at the woman as she brought back the plates of pie.

"Ohh aren't you two just the cutest pair," she said with a giggle, wrinkling her nose up at us. "You remind me of when I was your age and dating my husband Henry, we used to go to the local diner and split a sundae." She patted her generous belly and laughed. "We've been doing that for thirty-five years!" Beth smiled at her and congratulated them on their long-lived relationship, Henry beamed over at us, waving as he poured our drinks.

"Well you know, when you find the right girl you gotta hold on to her – that was my Veronica," Henry said, grinning at the woman again. He carried our drinks over and put them on the table. Beth had dropped her hand from my face, but I noticed it was still resting near mine on the table. "A lot of people have tried to split us up over the years," Henry said, putting his arm around his wife, "but the heart wants what the heart wants, so you gotta just follow that." We smiled politely at them and Veronica bustled about.

"Come on Henry, let's give them some privacy!" She said, shooing him back to the kitchen. When they were gone we just stared out the window as the sun climbed up through the clouds. I moved my hand over Beth's and squeezed it.

"Happy birthday," I said quietly, looking over at her. She smiled, though she looked a little sad. "Thinking about that shadow thing?" I asked, and received a nod.

I sighed and looked at her. "Well don't, I'm fine, and I'm not going anywhere," I promised, surprised to realise that I actually meant it, I'd been saying nonsense like that to girls my entire life, but the one time I meant it was the one girl I wasn't meant to be saying it to. She smiled at me, albeit still a little sad.

"I'm sorry Beth," I said, she knew what I was talking about.

"Me too," she said softly, looking up at the sun again. "You think there'll come a time we can't do this?" She asked, I assumed she was referring to the birthday pie tradition and stated as much, she nodded.

"Nope," I replied honestly.

"Really?" She asked, looking surprised. "What about when you're married and have a van full of kids?" I laughed at the ridiculous image of that statement.

"You seriously see me doing that?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. She grimaced and tilted her head thoughtfully in my direction.

"Well... maybe one day. Never know what's going to happen," Beth said, looking down at our hands still touching on the table.

"I don't think a hunter's life makes for a very committed or opportune chance to develop a relationship worth pursuing to that level." I said to her. _Unless one happened to find a hunter just like you, _I thought. She nodded silently.

"Yeah, you might be right there," she said, staring out the window again. It was time to lift the mood. I cut a big mouthful of pie from her plate using the spoon and held it out to her, she took the bite and chewed, moaning at how good it tasted. I grinned.

"Well until that day, birthday pie is my gig. I'm all yours." I said, taking a bite of my own pie and chewing thoughtfully. The smile I received from that statement was enough to melt my heart. She sure wasn't that shy little fifteen year old anymore, and it was getting harder and harder to deny it.

* * *

_**3**__**rd**__** August 2001 (20yrs old)  
Memphis, Tennessee  
Beth's POV**_

I ducked out early, avoiding Dean. I was still super angry at him and didn't want to listen to yet another excuse. My mind was a blur with the last few days of fights and arguments. It'd gotten so bad that John and Sam had actually been getting a long, and that was saying something. They'd even gotten their own room and left Dean and I to fight it out.

Dean was still asleep when I left and I was careful to be quiet so I wouldn't wake him up. I pulled on my runners and started jogging at a brisk pace down through the park near where we were staying. It was still dark but I wasn't worried, I had a knife tucked in my boot and a gun at my back, if anyone decided to attack me they'd be sorry.

After about a mile I slowed to a walk, the anger starting to dissipate. I don't even know how I had a right to be angry at him, but I was anyway. I thought we were better than this, I thought we were done tossing this crap in each other's faces. Apparently not. I settled down on a bench overlooking a man-made lake, there were ducks and other birdlife floating around, the trees were buzzing with activity as the sun was starting to rise.

I was too busy staring off into the distance feeling sorry for myself that I didn't realise I had company right away.

"Twenty-seven hours." Dean said simply and I raised an eyebrow at him. When I didn't say anything he turned and looked at me. "Since you said a word to me." He clarified. I glared and stared back at the water rippling in front of me.

"Come on Beth, you can't stay mad at me forever," Dean said to me. I looked at him stonily.

"You ditched me Dean, to go hang with some slut of a girl!" I said crankily, thinking about the girl we'd run into while out shopping for an angel for my collection.

"What? No I didn't, she was a very respectable girl, although that thing she did with her tongue made me think she'd done that a few times before..." The look I gave him kind of stopped that train of thought dead in its tracks.

"What she could do with her tongue isn't the point Dean! You still ditched me!" I stood up and started to pace along the lake shoreline.

"Oh come on Beth," Dean said, standing up and looking at me. "You're over-reacting just a little here."

"Am I? You promised me Dean." I wasn't budging on this one, I was still really upset.

Dean grabbed me as I walked past him, pulling me to face him. He shook me to try and get some sense into me.

"Would you just stop it!" He demanded. I stared up at him, tears in my eyes. It wasn't just the blonde that had pissed me off, it was the fact that he'd promised to do something with me, and I rarely made him promise me anything.

Suddenly I felt his soft lips claim mine in an urgent kiss, he was firm and tender all at the same time and I felt myself slipping away from the anger I was feeling as butterflies did somersaults in my stomach. He held my chin with one hand, his other one snaking around my waist to my lower back and pulling me into him.

I moaned in response, clutching at his t-shirt, fully aware that I should be pushing him away instead of pulling him closer. After what seemed a lifetime where he'd fully explored my mouth and lips we pulled apart and my heart sank with the futility of it all.

"What are you doing?" I asked forlornly. "You know we can't..."

"Shut up," he said, kissing me again, drowning out any protest I might have come up with. He pulled back again and looked at me.

"I know, I know we can't." He said quietly. "Can't we just have a day where we can put that aside? Just a day?"

I stared at him, my heart racing a mile a minute. The sun had crept into the sky and I'd missed it, but I didn't care.

"OK." I said softly, looking up at him. "OK." He leaned down to me again, lips claiming mine again as I opened up to him and let him claim me.

My head was giving me all the reasons I should just push him away and run right now, but my heart won. So many years of running and he was asking for a moment, a little stolen moment in time where we could just act on our feelings. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks already as the hopeful heart inside of me meet with the crushing reality that was our lives.

John would never allow it. John had always said we could not go there, it would break the family unit, it would put us at risk, it would make us vulnerable. We were brother and sister, not lovers.

I slipped my arms around Dean's waist and when he pulled away again I rested my head on his chest, watching the water glimmer under the early morning rays of light. His heart was racing, I could hear it under my ear. I squeezed my eyes tight, holding back the tears.

"Happy birthday," Dean said, brushing his thumbs across my closed eyes. "Come on, I promised I was going to take you, and we're going to go." He said, lifting my chin to look at me again. "It is the King after all, surely they'll have a diner there where we can get some damn pie," he commented and I laughed. I kissed him again softly and then nodded.

We moved as one toward the motel where we could get the car. I'd almost come full circle so we weren't that far away. Graceland was now top of the agenda for the day and I was thrilled, I'd always wanted to visit, and with Dean by my side, you couldn't have given me a better birthday present.

* * *

_**3**__**rd**__** August 2002 (21yrs old)  
Sioux Falls, South Dakota  
Dean's POV**_

It had been the longest year yet. We'd started it out with a forbidden kiss, to feel something we shouldn't be. Then we'd tried to move back into some kind of platonic friendship, like we'd had. We failed miserably, and what had been left in our wake was a multitude of stolen kisses, frustrated fights as we tried to adhere to Dad's rules, and angry words when we inevitably did something to hurt the other one because we couldn't get over the frustration of denying ourselves what we wanted.

The last couple of months had been the most intense, reaching a boiling point over the Summer, I'd dated a girl who had dumped me when she realised I was hung up on Beth. Beth dated a guy to get back at me for that, or at least that is what I hoped it was about. I'd interrupted the date and kissed her on the way back to the motel, only to pull away and throw the same line in her face that she used on me every time. _"I shouldn't have. We can't. I'm sorry." _

Bloody line should be like our mantra. We'd gotten past it, somehow repaired all the damage we did to each other every time we got close like that, and we had been going so well. Then that bloody werewolf had to step in and throw a spanner in the works.

Last night we'd been hunting the werewolf, the next we were beat to hell, sitting in Bobby's kitchen, and getting patched up. I don't know what Cole had given me to help with the pain, but it had almost knocked me out. Beth somehow got me up to bed and crashed in with me, worried about the effect the medicine was having on me. She had watched me for almost an hour before I couldn't take it any more, I just had to feel her against me.

_I reached out, brushing my hand along her face and she startled, her eyes widening when she realised that I was still awake, and I was fully aware that she had been staring at me as I pretended to be asleep. Sam was snoring away in the other bed, so I had no problem whatsoever pulling her in to me, brushing my lips along hers. I tentatively tested the waters first, to see where her refusal gauge was at – it was always different each time we stole these little moments. Tonight it was almost non-existent. _

_I felt her yield to my kisses, a couple of soft sighs falling from her as she lay down beside me, her hands coming around my waist to pull me closer. I groaned, rolling in and pushing her back against the mattress, leaning over to deepen the kiss as I pinned her down, my right hand running the length of her body, brushing lightly along her side, down over her bare hip where her shorts had pulled down slightly. _

_My breath caught at the thought of how very little she was actually wearing; I brought my hand up again, brushing my thumb so lightly over the thin fabric of her tank top. She had taken off her bra and I couldn't resist trailing my fingers along the underside of her breast, drawing a slight moan from her which I smothered with a kiss. She pulled back a little, anxious, and I slowed it down again, chiding myself for being so pushy. If I wasn't careful I'd push her so far she'd run away again – I had other ideas about that this year. This year I planned to make some changes._

_Morning had brought the same old denial routine though. We'd woken up, her tucked in to me and I had her pulled tightly against me, I wanted nothing more than to kiss her and take it further, but Sam woke up and dragged us out of the moment. Beth rolled away, slightly panicked, and when Sam left the room, barely even glancing at us, she was out of bed rummaging through her things._

"_What are you doing?" I asked, looking at her, frustrated._

"_Getting my things, I'll bunk in with Cole for the rest of the stay," she answered, refusing to look at me._

"_So we're not going to talk about what happened last night?" I asked plainly, I wasn't going to let her side step around this again. She stopped moving, looking up with me, I noticed for the first time she was crying._

"_Beth, oh Beth come on don't cry." I said, moving toward her. She stepped back and held a hand out between us, I paused and frowned at her. This wasn't exactly how I'd thought this conversation would go down._

"_I can't..." she whispered. I felt the same old anger and frustration rising in me._

"_Dammit Beth! Why do you always do this?" I said loudly, running a hand through my hair and then standing with both hands on my hips._

"_Do what Dean?" Beth asked, moving again and shoving things into her bag. _

"_Push me away! You're hot, you're cold, just make up your damn mind!" I said angrily, I'd almost reached my limit on this yo-yo game we'd been playing. _

"_You know we can't," Beth said quietly, her head hanging down, hair in her face. "I didn't mean it..." Those words hit me the hardest, because I'd used them on her not a month ago, and even when I'd said them I knew I'd been lying – just like I knew she was lying now. _

"_Yeah, you never do!" I said with a frustrated tone. I grabbed a few items of clothing from off the top of my bag and stormed out of the room, running into a surprised looking Cole who had been about to enter. I pushed past her without a word, crossing to the bathroom and slamming the door. Just how was I going to get her to see sense?_

The day had been murder, table shopping because Cole and Dad had ruined it in a training session, or something like that. Beth and I had tussled a few times in angst-ridden moments that never went any further as she seemed determined to push me away again. She had moved her things up to Cole's room and we all went to bed at a reasonable hour. I was just glad to get away from it all and sink into oblivion, to try and shove it all back into the darkness.

I woke up to soft hands shaking my shoulder and I turned quickly, startled. It was Beth, and I wondered for a moment if I was dreaming. I glanced at my watch which glowed back at me, it was 2am. I had no idea where Dad was, he'd never come to bed, and all of a sudden I didn't give a damn.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked softly, trying not to wake Sam. The guy didn't even move, his soft snoring continuing uninterrupted. She shook her head at me, and I felt my heart melt. I reached out, pulling her under the covers with me, tangling her up in my embrace. "What's wrong?" I asked, brushing her hair out of her eyes and looking at her. There was just enough light to see from the moon shining through the window.

"Everything's wrong," she said sadly, burying her face in my neck, her breath tickling along my collarbone. I stroked her hair and held her, thinking about all the different ways we could handle this. I kissed her forehead and lifted her chin so I could look her in the eyes.

"Do you trust me?" I asked, and she nodded. I smiled at the answer. Finally we were getting somewhere. "It'll be ok," I said, my lips claiming hers. I nibbled softly on her lower lip before sliding my tongue in to meet hers in a slow tango. She sighed gently, softening to my touches. I pulled back with a reluctant groan. "We'll take it slow," I said and she sighed.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

"Of me?" I asked, confused. She shook her head and smiled.

"Not of you silly," she whispered in my ear, trying to be quiet because of Sam. "Of Dad, of what it will mean, of what it will do to our family."

I frowned. I think Dad needed to just lighten up, god knows we'd given it our all the last few years and tried to stay away from each other. We'd failed, and I was sick of denying how I felt. I wanted to see where this was going, and if it was going no where then we'd face that fact when we got there. But I'd given my life to this hunt, this vendetta of his. The least he could do was let us make a few adult choices of our own, it's not like we were teenagers any more.

"It'll be ok. We're adults, we can do this. You'll always be my sister Beth, if nothing else we will _always _have that, ok?" She nodded with a smile, and I felt reassured that this time she wasn't going to run away. With her safely tucked up alongside me, I kissed along her shoulder and then whispered in her ear.

"Get some sleep before we have to get up, dawn will be here before we know it." She nodded, nuzzling her way in against me, her nose tucked up into my neck, her soft breathing tickling at first, but then settling into a rhythm that lulled me to sleep alongside her.

When I woke up, I kissed her again, just in case I was about to find out it was all a dream. I looked at the light growing outside and groaned. Pulling away I climbed out of bed, grabbing random clothes from around the room and putting them on. When I was dressed, I looked at her, she was still lying in bed watching me dress with an innocent smile on her face. I couldn't have loved her more in that moment.

"Get dressed," I said. "Or we're going to miss it." She finally looked at the window and startled at how light it was outside. She was gone in an instant, padding up the stairs to Cole's bedroom in the converted attic. Two minutes later she was back, pulling on my old hoodie, and taking my hand as we snuck down the stairs toward the front door.

Stopping quickly at the kitchen, we grabbed the pie I'd gotten us out of the fridge, foregoing the hot cocoa for now, we'd have to make that when we came back – there wasn't enough time. I led us down toward the river at the bottom of Bobby's property, weaving us through the car yard. We didn't run into anyone, which was a relief, and settled on the bank of the river, pie in hand, watching as the sky turned a bring pink around us, and then reds and purples shot through the clouds like a giant watercolour painting. Beth sighed and leaned into me as I put my arm around her shoulders.

We tucked into the pie, munching away as the sun climbed higher in the sky. Pretty soon we'd have to return to the house, and there were birthday celebrations in play, Cole had planned a trip to a local bar where there would be drinking and dancing – Beth's request. I was secretly looking forward to it, it had been a while since we'd been able to let our hair down and have a good time. It was going to be fun.

"Happy birthday baby," I said to her, turning to kiss her again. When we broke away she smiled.

"Best birthday ever," she said softly, leaning her head against my shoulder again. I only hoped the rest of the day lived up to the morning, things were already looking up from where I sat.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

Song is _You Were Born – by Cloud Cult_

* * *

_Wow, I really wanted to have Folsom Prison Blues out sooner, but it's been a busy week. I hope you enjoy this little peek into Dean taking over Beth's birthday tradition from her Dad & Mum. I think it gives us a nice little insight into the softer side of Dean that you don't get to see very often :) I've been wanting to write this for a while so I'm glad to finally have it out._

* * *

_Remember if you're not sure who Cole is (she makes a little guest appearance here) check out EarthhAngel's story "How To Save A Life" also here on FanFiction. We've been collaborating on it and it has some great insights into Dean & Beth from a third party POV when they were just getting together. Plus – there's JOHN! Need I say more? P.S. EA says sorry to all the readers, she had to reschedule her exam so the update has been a little slow coming! (I assure you she's got one that will be out very soon, so hang in there!)_

* * *

_Hi to all the new followers and reviewers – GREAT to have you here, hope you're enjoying the story as much as I enjoy writing it. I am completely obsessed with it and hoping to get the updates happening a little more frequently again with some short one-shots in between the bigger chapters. Please review, I love feedback!_

* * *

_Always looking for people who can make videos – would love to get some made up for Dean and Beth (and John and Cole) and so on. It's not my forte and I don't have time to teach myself right now, so hoping someone out there has a passion for it and also enjoys the story enough to put your hand up and volunteer to make a video or two? :D_

* * *

_Likewise, if you have any thoughts or ideas for one-shot short pieces, please tell me, I love inspiration!_


	22. Folsom Prison Blues

_I ain't looking for trouble but it's looking for me_**_  
_**_The law of the jungle is protecting me_**_  
_**_Lose sleep man stay out of your bed_**_  
_**_You might wind up in jail if you lose your head__In death I might find_**_  
_**_True peace of mind_**_  
_**_But while I'm alive_**_  
_**_Free choice is mine_**_  
_**_It's either: Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll_

* * *

**FOLSOM PRISON BLUES**

* * *

**_Arkansas Museum of Anthropology  
_****Beth's POV**

I pulled the Impala up in front of the museum and cut the engine, glancing over at Dean who had an excited look in his eyes. He got out of the car and stared at the building across from us.

"Just for the record," Sam said, getting out of the car, "I hate this plan guys." I chewed on my lower lip, agreeing with him, but I wasn't going to say it. Unfortunately this was how the job went sometimes. Dean saw the hesitation on my face and came around to pull me into a hug.

"Yeah, I got it the first ten times you said it," he said to Sam sharply, then looking at me with a lot more care than he'd given Sam.

"It'll be ok," Dean promised, and I sighed.

"Yeah I know. I just don't like the idea of being separated from you both, anything could go wrong," I said.

"If it were for any other reason...you think I want to leave you out here?" Dean asked me, a slight frown creasing his brow, his eyes were just as conflicted as mine. Damn John and the damn work ethic that he drilled into us. I sighed, he was right; it still didn't mean I was happy about it.

"Yeah I know," I said, "Just... be careful, I have a bad feeling about this."

Dean leaned down and kissed me, tentatively at first and then he leaned into it, pushing me back against the Impala. I felt his hand brush under my chin, and it sent shivers down my body. He kissed me at length, and I felt myself yield, melting under his touch. Sam cleared his throat and we ignored him. I ran my hands up into Dean's hair, pulling him in closer to me, my teeth catching his top lip and tugging at it gently before running my tongue along it. I pulled away with a happy sigh.

"Damn, should have got our own room last night instead of planning this ridiculous move," Dean said a little breathlessly, I chuckled and nodded. Sam was staring at us, rolling his eyes. Dean shrugged in his direction.

"What? Could be a while before I get to do that again," he said and I bit my lower lip at the comment. He saw it and touched my face again.

"It won't be, ok? Remember, there's an exit plan," he said. I nodded and took a deep breath.

"OK..." I said. "Go on, before I change my mind." Dean grinned and kissed me once more before he and Sam crossed the road heading around the back of the building. I got in the car and pulled the Impala further down the street, parking it so I could still see the building, but far enough away that I wouldn't be noticed.

Suddenly there were couple of police cars that showed up on the scene, they had their lights flashing but no sirens on. I bit my lip nervously, watching as they ran toward the building. _This was a stupid, stupid plan! _About ten minutes passed and then I saw them escorting Dean and Sam down the front steps of the museum. My heart stopped at the sight. Dean had a casual smart assed look on his face and Sam looked pissed. It might have been part of the plan, but just the same it didn't make watching them get into the back of squad cars any easier to watch.

Phase one down, now to get on to the next part of the plan.

* * *

**_Little Rock Police Station  
_****Dean's POV**

I couldn't help but grin when they handed me the mug shot board to hold up. It was all so amusing; to think we'd deliberately get caught by the fuzz.

"I call this one the Blue Steel," I said to the photographer, and I struck a pensive pose for the camera.

"Yeah that's right," the photographer said to me. The camera flashed and I blinked at the blinding light. I chuckled. Beth was gonna love that.

"To the right," instructed the photographer and I turned for another photo. "All right, back to the line-up." I looked over at the guy with a grin.

"So who looks better, me or Nick Nolte?" I asked, the photographer rolled his eyes at me and shook his head.

"Shut up," he responded. I rolled my eyes back at him and headed out there door.

Half an hour later I was in an interrogation room. The door opened and I looked up to see two men enter.

"Well, it's about time. I'll have a cheeseburger. Extra onions," I quipped, wondering at what point our own part of the plan was going to kick into gear. The dark-skinned guy looked over at his partner and raised his eyebrows, looking amused.

"You think you're funny?" He asked me. I shrugged.

"Oh I think I'm adorable," I said with a broad smile, leaning toward him.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Dean. I'm Special Agent Victor Henriksen. This is my partner, Special Agent Reidy." I felt my heart stop just a little at the mention of the name. I hadn't actually factored him into the plan.

"Henriksen? Not the Milwaukee agent Henriksen?" I asked haltingly.

"Live and in person," Henriksen said with a smirk. I gave a short chuckle, looking him over, he looked tough and self-assured. I hoped Beth was ready to bring her best game; she sure wasn't going to be expecting this. Henriksen pulled out a security camera shot from when we'd been hunting the shapeshifter in Milwaukee, we'd kind of come across as bank robbers during that time, the Feds had been on my ass ever since.

"Oh, nice shot," Henriksen commented, tossing the picture on the table. "You can hang that up in your cell at Super Max."

"All right, maybe we can just forget the cheeseburger, huh?" I joked.

"Oh, yeah. Keep that game face on. Try and cover how up cornered you are," he glanced at Reidy. "Read him the charges."

Reidy swaggered toward me, hands on his hips. "Mail fraud, credit card fraud, grave desecration..."

"Skip to the good ones," Henriksen interrupted.

"Armed robbery, kidnapping and, oh, three counts of first degree murder." Reidy finished with a raised eyebrow.

"And after Milwaukee your brother is now a suspect in a murder case himself. I'd say for you two, screwed to hell is a major understatement." Henriksen said.

I kept my voice level and calm, looking at him a little cockily. "Well, where there's life there's hope, huh?"

Henriksen huffed, waving his file around in front of himself. "See? That's what I kept thinking as I was searching for your asses all over hell and gone." He leaned forward on the table, his voice lowering. "Your dad taught you well. The way you covered your tracks and after Milwaukee, the way you..." He whistled and moved his hand around in the air, mimicking disappearing. "Vanished... I near went nuts trying to find you. Ask him."

I looked over at Reidy with a laugh. Reidy looked poker faced at me. "He near went nuts," he said deadpan. I raised my eyebrow at him and smirked.

"And after all of that, you got tripped up on a motion detector. Pretty rookie move. Gotta say I was... surprised." And that there was the crux of it, he hasn't even looked at _why _we'd gotten caught. How someone so well trained got tripped up by something so minor.

The door opened and I had to keep the smile off my face when I saw Beth walk in.

"Dean Winchester?" Beth asked, looking at me.

"In the flesh," I said flirtatiously at her. Her eyes smiled at me, but she kept her face deadpan, the girl was good, but then years of playing opposite me in these rouses would do that.

"And you are?" Henriksen asked, looking at her. I watched his face, just in case somewhere along the line he'd figured out who she was. But there was no recognition there, my girl the ghost. I decided I should throw _Casper _at her as a nickname one day, filing it away for future reference.

"Kate Martin, Public Defender's office," Beth said, looking unfazed at Henriksen before turning back to me. "I've been assigned you and your brother's case." We'd set this up a few weeks back, Beth was assuming the identity of a new transfer from out of state, a new public defender who had just found out some of her paperwork had been hijacked and needed to be sorted out. The real Kate Martin was actually being delayed for a few weeks while Beth stepped in to play the part.

Beth stepped forward and took my hand, I squeezed it and held it just a little longer than was probably appropriate, I played it off like I was a flirt, heck, I wasn't lying. "Huh," I said with a grin.

"And you are?" Beth asked, looking over at the Agent.

"Special Agent Henriksen," he replied. Beth's hand was still in mine, and it stiffened a little when he said his name. She looked at me, hidden concern in her eyes.

"And we're not quite done here." Henriksen said. I watched Beth pull it together and put her game face back on.

"Uh, yeah, you are," she said shortly, looking up at him. "And if you don't mind, I'd like to meet with my clients. Privately." Her voice was steely and Henriksen looked a little shocked at such confidence coming out of a woman – he was a man who was used to giving orders and having them followed. Beth didn't follow orders from anyone except Dad, and sometimes me. I smiled, proud of my girl, raising an eyebrow at the Agent.

Ten minutes later we were sitting in the same room, only now Sam was with us. Beth was sitting at the end of the table, Sam and I across from each other. No doubt we would be watched in some capacity so we had to play the part.

"The arraignment on the breaking and entering charge won't be until Tuesday," Beth said to us, opening her suitcase and pulling out some files.

"And they'll keep us in the county jail?" I asked, looking over at her.

"Yes," Beth confirmed with a nod. She looked a little apprehensive, I only saw it because I knew her so well, anyone else would have missed it.

"Is there something else?" I said vaguely, letting her know I'd seen the apprehension cross her face. She looked at me and nodded.

"Extradition papers have already been filed from five separate states, Missouri and Wisconsin being the biggest concern – the bank robbery and the murder raps." Beth said, and suddenly I understood why she was looking a little pensive.

"How long can we stall extradition?" Sam asked.

"A week, maybe less," Beth said, looking at him. I nodded and Sam looked over at me, raising his eyebrow. Her eyes were saying what she'd already said to me. _This was a bad plan. _

* * *

**_Green River County Detention Center  
_****Dean's POV**

We were shackled and riding in the back of a bus that smelled like piss and sweat. For just a tiny moment I allowed doubt to creep into my mind, but then I set my mind to task, we had a job to do.

The bus doors opened and we were herded off like cattle. We were all chained together, and shuffled alongside the rec yard where a bunch of prisoners had lined up and were cat calling to us all. One of the prisoners pointed at Sam and yelled out to him.

"You're mine, baby!" Sam looked fed up already and wasn't happy about our situation.

"Don't worry Sam, I promise I won't trade you for smokes." Sam threw me a glare and I couldn't help but chuckle.

We were processed and given our new bright orange jumpsuits, a blanket and toilet roll. Flanked by two guards, we were walked single file down the hallway to our cells.

"I call top bunk!" I said as the first prisoner and I were led into our cell. The other guy scoffed at me and put his things on the top bunk.

"Ok..." I said, shaking my head. Sam was put in the cell across the hallway from me. Good, it meant I could keep an eye on him a little. He was more than capable of handling himself physically; emotionally... that was another kettle of fish.

His roommate was a very large man who stood and glared at Sam. I watched Sam turn to look at me as our cell doors were closed, Sam was looking pissed and I couldn't say I blamed him really.

Sometime later we were being lined up and frisked by one guard, scanned with a metal-detecting rod by the other. We were about to join the communal dining area.

"My roommate doesn't say much – how's yours?" I asked Sam in a low voice, looking behind me.

"Just keeps staring at me... in a way that makes me really uneasy," Sam replied just as quietly.

"It sounds like you're making new friends," I quipped, trying to keep things light.

"Dean, this is, without a doubt, the dumbest, craziest thing we've ever done. And that's in a long, storied career of dumb and crazy." Sam said to me. I thought about it, he could be right, I was trying to decide if there was anything stupider or crazier that Beth and I had done in the past. Nothing came to mind.

"Calm down. It's all part of the plan," I said, trying to get him to see reason.

"Oh really? So Henriksen showing up was part of the plan?" Sam threw back at me. I grimaced.

"Yeah, that guys moves a little faster than I thought." I said and I felt Sam glaring at the back of my head. "Look, all we got to do is find this ghost, put the sucker down... then grab ourselves a couple of teardrop tattoos." I smirked at him and he didn't look very impressed. I was hoping I sounded a heck of a lot more sure of the plan than I felt, because right now Henriksen was weighing heavily on my mind.

I knew Beth could handle him, but just the same, the Feds are the Feds and they could be like a dog to a bone – all it would take would be one little slip, one CCTV shot of her coming out of that bank, or in that bank, and everything would change.

Sam leaned in to me, speaking anxiously. "That's not funny. Dean, what about this escape plan? I..."

"It's 100% sure. I wouldn't have gone if it wasn't. I mean, come on, man, this place has all the signs of a haunting. Innocent people are dead, four so far." I reminded him, this is where we had to be.

Sam laughed sarcastically and looked around us at all our fellow inmates. "Yeah, innocent."

"You from Texas all of a sudden? Just because these people are in jail, doesn't mean they deserve to die." I said, frowning at him. What the hell had gotten into him all of a sudden? "If we don't stop this, people are going to continue to die. We do this job wherever it takes us."

"Look, Dean, just be straight with me, all right? You're doing this for Deacon." Sam said, referring to Dad's friend who had called us in.

"Damn right," I said with a nod.

"Well, you barely even know the guy," Sam pointed out, looking sceptical.

"We know he was in the Corps with Dad. He saved Dad's life. We owe him." I said. I'd already had this argument with him more than once. he'd lost the vote, Beth and I had decided we owed Dad this much, to help out an old marine buddy of his.

"But don't you think he's asking a little much?" Sam asked.

"It doesn't matter. We may not be saints, but we're loyal and we pay our debts. Now, that means something to me, and to Beth, and it ought to you. I'm not thrilled about this either, but Deacon asked us to hunt this thing down, and that's exactly what we're going to do." I said. I could see the food up ahead and my stomach was suddenly telling me it was hungry, I hoped there was something good on the menu.

* * *

**_Dining Area  
_****Dean's POV**

Sam was sitting opposite me grimacing at his spaghetti. I was chowing down on some chicken.

"You know, this chicken isn't half bad," I said to him around a mouthful of food.

"Great," Sam sulked, putting down his fork and sliding his plate toward me. "Finish mine." I smirked at him and continued to eat. "All right, so let's go back over this, Dean." I stabbed Sam's chicken with my fork and moved it to my own plate.

"Spirit suspect number one is Mark Moody, right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, psycho killer extraordinaire – Satanism, ritual murderer, died in jail." I confirmed with a nod,

"You sure it's him?" Sam asked.

"Pretty sure," I answered, chewing on my chicken.

"Dean, considering our circumstances, I'm gonna need a little bit better than 'pretty sure.'" Sam said with a frown.

"Really pretty sure." I said, rolling my eyes. He was really starting to play on my nerves. I so would have preferred working this case with Beth; she wouldn't give me half as hard a time as Sam did. Too bad this wasn't a co-ed prison, now that could be a little bit more fun. I didn't like leaving her on the outside, we'd been through too much recently and she was still very fragile, even if most of the time she appeared to be ok, and she certainly didn't admit it.

I knew from the way she clung to me last night that she wasn't happy about the plan, she'd voiced it a few times, but then let it drop. The separation wasn't going to be easy on any of us, especially since I'd promised we wouldn't do that again, but there was no choice, we needed to get this job done for Deacon, and she couldn't come in with us. As our lawyer it ensured she'd be able to check in on us at regular intervals and hopefully we wouldn't need to go the back-up, back-up plan where she would have to pose as a new prison guard fresh on the roll-out of government pushed equal opportunity roles.

"Moody died of a heart attack, which is what all the victims in here are dying of. He died in the old cell block, which they closed after he croaked, 30 years ago. They just opened that back up. That's when the killings started." I said to him, Beth and I had done our research, the theory was sound.

"So you think his spirit was released somehow?" Sam asked.

"Mmhmmm," I nodded.

"But what if he was already cremated?" Sam said, looking pensive. I was really starting to get sick of the questions. We'd been over this a dozen times.

"I'm guessing there's something in the old block that's keeping him around. And whatever it is, we got to find it. And, uh, you know the rest." I put down my fork and leaned back in my seat, nodding. "I'm done."

I got up and walked away, Sam followed me. Clumsy ox that he is, he bumped into a heavily tattooed prisoner.

"Sorry..." Sam said, starting to apologise.

"Watch where you're going," the guy grumped at Sam, his eyes wide and crazy.

"Yeah. Sure. I just..." Sam stuttered and started to back away. I moved back toward him and put myself between the guy and Sam.

"He said he was sorry," I told the guy, getting up in his face.

"Dean..." Sam tried to stop me, but I was already there.

"You talking to me?" The guy said, I simply stared back at him. "You talking to me?" He asked again.

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "Great, another guy who's seen _Taxi Driver _too many times. Yeah, I'm talking to you. Trust me. Let it go."

The guy walked away after another stare at me and I felt pretty chuffed, turning back to Sammy with a smile. "See, that's how you got to talk to these guys." I said, winking at Sam. "Instant respect."

Sam was looking behind me, his eyes starting to widen. "You were saying?" Sam asked, inclining his head behind me. I turned to see the guy from before walking over with another big guy.

"Oh great," I muttered, turning to face them, taking a defensive stance. Thank god we knew how to fight.

The first guy took a swing at me; I dodged and caught him from behind, holding his arm behind his back.

"We can end this right now – no harm, no foul," I said to the guy who was doubled over in front of me, his arm pinned. He broke my hold, swinging at me again; I dodged and caught him from behind again, slamming him up against a wall. The guy stepped on my foot and I stepped back. He turned to face me and I moved fast, kicking him in the groin, then sent him flying back to the ground with a knee to his nose.

"That's enough!" The Warden was standing in front of me now, looking unimpressed with the fight.

"On your feet Lucas," the Warden said. The guy I'd seen to the floor grabbed his chin and grunted.

"Yes sir, boss." He said, scrambling to his feet and stepping back a few feet.

The Warden took out his baton and held it under my chin, lifting it up at an uncomfortable angle.

"What's your name?" He asked me.

"Winchester," I replied stonily.

"Well, Winchester... not a good start." The Warden said, pulling his baton out from under my chin with a swift jerk. "Solitary." He said, turning to walk back the way he'd come. "You too, Lucas." He said as he passed the guy I'd been fighting. The guard with him grabbed Lucas, and I felt a couple of hands grab me from behind, and a guard smirked at me.

"Are we having fun yet, huh?" I said to Sam as the guard shoved me toward the exit. I noticed the other prisoner, who'd been with Lucas make a slicing motion across his neck at Sam, and suddenly I kicked myself for getting thrown into solitary, I was supposed to be looking after Sam, not getting him into more trouble.

* * *

**_Motel Room  
_****Beth's POV**

I had to keep busy to keep my mind off the fact that I was alone. I slipped the chain on the door, checking the lock for the third time this evening. My gun was permanently tucked at my back, and my silver knife was under my pillow. I started to go through outfits for tomorrow's meeting, pulling out a range of things.

Because there had been CCTV at the bank robbery, and I was probably on some of it, I had been working on at least appearing slightly different in case Henriksen clicked as to who I was – I would be meeting with him tomorrow. I had some non-prescription glasses that sat on the ridge of my nose making me look very official and intelligent, these alone made a difference. I was also going to wear my hair in an intricate bun at the back of my head, changing my look again because my hair had been down in the bank robbery. There was of course the fact that I wasn't pregnant any more as well, and I stopped to consider that for a moment, running my hands down my flat stomach.

I sighed, tears coming to my eyes and pushed back the heart ache. It always seemed twice as bad when I was alone, and seeing Henriksen had brought back a lot of the memories. I could still feel what it was like to have that little baby moving inside of me, to feel its kicks and prods. I sat on the edge of the bed, wrapping my arms around my stomach, my breath coming in short bursts. Hot tears stung my eyes, and the darkness threatened to swallow me. I decided to call Dean; it would help just to hear his voice.

I placed the call through to county detention and waited for Dean to come on the line, surprised when the guard came back so quickly.

"I'm sorry ma'am, I'm afraid your client has been placed into solitary confinement for the night," he said. I frowned. _Solitary? What the hell had Dean been up to in there to land in solitary already? _

"Solitary? Why is he in solitary?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Fighting," was the reply and I rolled my eyes. Not much of a surprise there.

"Well can I speak to my other client, Sam Winchester?" I asked.

This time there was a longer wait on the line and when it picked up I was thankful to hear Sam's voice on the end.

_"Hello?" _Sam asked, quiet and wary.

"Sammy, thank god. Are you ok?" I asked, realising for the first time just how tense I'd been all day worrying about those two.

_"Yeah Beth, we're fine." _Sam said reassuringly.

"Solitary?" I asked, getting straight to the point.

_"It wasn't his fault..."_ Sam said_. "Well, mostly not."_ I chuckled, that I could believe.

"Is he hurt?" I asked.

_"Nah, he won, of course. Still earned him a time out though,"_ Sam chuckled. I nodded, smiling in spite of the situation.

"So have you come across anything unusual yet?" I asked.

_"Not yet, how about you?"_ Sam asked, and I glanced at the clock. The guard had said we had fifteen minutes to talk.

"Well I plan to see Henriksen tomorrow, see where he's at with the extradition orders, and try to get a stall on them. Maybe I can get him to look a little deeper at the cases, see the truth." I said. Sam snorted; he didn't think the FBI was capable of seeing anything other than what they wanted to see.

"Has Deacon made contact with you yet?" I asked, curious as to where the man stood in the equation.

_"Not yet,"_ Sam said.

We talked for a little while longer, just about how my day had been and I think Sam knew I was struggling because I was rambling about things that had nothing to do with the case, just trying to keep him talking longer.

_"Beth, are you ok?"_ He asked finally, when I took a breath from filling him in on the latest _Buffy _episode I'd been watching.

"Yeah, yeah of course, why wouldn't I be?" I lied, taking a breath.

_"It's ok to admit you're not,"_ Sam said, pulling his Dr. Phil move on me. I paused and felt the tears coming back.

"I'll live, but the sooner you guys are back on this side of the wall, the better," I said quietly.

_"Yeah, I couldn't agree more, I hope this plan is as fool proof as Dean reckons it is." _Sam said, voicing his concern about the plan for what was probably the umpteenth time, I was glad it was Dean who would be getting chewed out on that, and not me. I looked at the clock and our fifteen minutes was up.

"OK. Well, I'd better go, stay out of trouble, please? I miss you guys." I said, biting my lip.

_"Yeah, we're ok Beth, don't worry – we'll be out of here before you know it. Be careful with Henriksen tomorrow."_ I nodded and then realised he couldn't see me.

"Yeah, I will. I'll talk to you soon ok?" He agreed and said good night, and I hung up, looking around the big empty motel room with a sigh.

Half an hour later, I had grabbed all the pillows off one of the beds, and piled them up on the bed I'd chosen to sleep in. I put some either side, and then changed into my pyjamas. Crawling into the middle of the bed, pillows either side of me – they made me feel a little more secure and sheltered. I had a big cup of cocoa on my bedside table, the remote in hand, and the laptop sitting on a pillow on my thighs.

I put on the Sci-Fi channel and settled back, putting the laptop away and cradling my cocoa in my hands. If I didn't have Dean, at least it felt like he was kind of cuddled up next to me with all these pillows. Just the same, I was going to sleep with the TV on tonight, the room was way too quiet for me – I was used to two grown men rolling around, muttering and grunting in their sleep, snoring away. It wasn't until I didn't have it anymore that those little annoyances suddenly became precious to me.

* * *

**_Solitary Confinement  
_****Dean's POV**

I was leaning against the brick wall; it felt cold against my back. The room was dark and chilled; we weren't given anything to stay warm with, no blanket, and no pillow for comfort. I was so bored; I kept playing prison scenes over and over in my head.

"I wish I had a baseball," I said out loud, thinking of one movie.

Lucas's voice sounded from across the hallway. "What? What'd you say?"

I stood up so I could see the guy through the slot in my cell door. "I said, 'I wish I had a baseball.'" I repeated myself. "You know, like - like Steve McQueen."

"Yeah? Well, I wish I had a bat so I could bash your frickin' head in." Lucas said to me. I recoiled a little; I thought we were bonding here!

"Ok..." I muttered, going back to lean against the wall. "Well, so much for the bonding in solitary moment."

The lights started to flicker and my breath fogged in front of me as a cold spot hit. "Crap," I muttered, moving back to the door and looking out through the little slot that passed for a window. I could see a clock on the wall, it read 8:30. I sighed and cursed being trapped in this area.

"Lucas," I called out to the other prisoner. "Listen to me. Stay very still."

Lucas looked through the window at me and then he stepped back very quickly, looking alarmed. I couldn't see a thing. There was a scream from his cell and I felt my breathing start to quicken in panic. The spirit had him and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it except listen to the muffled sounds of the man dying right before my very eyes!

* * *

**_Little Rock Police Station  
The Next Morning_**

**Beth's POV**

My mind was all chatter when I reached the police station and I started to wonder if perhaps this wasn't such a great idea. Just the same, I knocked on the door to Henriksen's office and heard someone call out to enter. I straightened the glasses on my nose, they felt a little odd because I normally didn't wear any, and then I opened the door. Henriksen was sitting at a desk; Reidy was looking at paperwork in the background.

"Henriksen," I said to him, trying to sound a lot more confident than I felt. John had always told us, _fake it until you make it. _

"Hey, Martin," Henriksen said to me.

"Can I have a word?" I asked, taking a few steps into the room. Henriksen gestured to a chair.

"Have a seat. What's on your mind?" He asked, turning his full attention to me.

"I've been going through the Winchester charges. And I have to say, there are some weird inconsistencies." I said to him, getting ready to lay it on him.

"Welcome to my world," Henriksen said with a raised eyebrow.

"I talked to a cop in Baltimore who swears up and down these boys saved her life and helped her catch a killer." I felt bad getting Ballard involved, but it was time that some of these cops started actually helping us out in more of a way than just letting us walk free at the end of the day. I was sick of doing everything to help others and watching us, particularly Dean, get a bad rap because of it.

"And there's a witness to your bank robbery in Milwaukee. She swears Sam and Dean saved her life." I said to him.

"Saved her from what?" Henriksen asked. This is always where the stories fell down, because how did you explain a supernatural situation to a mainstream person?

"She was a little unclear on that." I admitted.

"That's because she's nuts. Look, I was in Milwaukee. I spoke to her. I spoke to all the witnesses." Henriksen said, staring at me.

"And?" I asked, curious.

"And all I know is, wherever these guys go, people die. It's that simple." He said. I wanted to sigh, but I kept my face deadpan, I was an impartial lawyer here, act the part.

"Well I don't know that it is. They just don't seem cut and dry guilty to me. I think there's more to this," I said, trying to get him to look a little deeper, to see what he'd missed.

"Like what?" Henriksen asked.

"Well, I'm just trying to point out that there are inconsistencies here, and there always seems to be a danger, something that these boys are in the middle of – something they are protecting people from. It's not as if it's the first time witnesses have said they saved their lives, not endangered them. I think you need to look a little deeper Henriksen. You need to see what is below the surface."

"Below the surface? Just how deep to I have to dig to see things for what they really are? China?" Henriksen snorted. "Maybe you've been digging a little too hard and you've lost your way. Anyway, the grown-ups are trying to get some work done here, so... if you don't mind." I stared at him stonily for a moment before getting up, not letting him intimidate me. When he looked away I stood up and headed toward the door.

"Think about what I said Henriksen, before you put innocent men in prison for something they didn't do." I walked out the door and shut it behind me before he could answer, my breathing coming a little harder and faster than usual. He'd rattled me a little, but I couldn't let him see that. It was time to go see the boys, but first I'd need to work out how I was going to get them alone in a room with me, it was only county detention so it should be ok, not like they'd made it to maximum detention yet.

* * *

**_Detention Center Rec Yard  
_****Sam's POV**

Dean had decided that the best way he was coming down off solitary confinement was to get in a game of poker. I found him in the yard playing with another prisoner at an outdoor table.

"Call," Dean said, looking at the guy, his poker face well and truly in place.

"Three aces," the guy said. Dean shook his head.

"That's a bad beat. That is a bad beat..." Dean said and I smirked, he had it in the bag though. Dean only ever joked around when he was on top. The prisoner thought he'd won and was already collecting his winnings of cigarettes that were on the table between them.

"...but see, I'm full... 3s over aces." Dean said, interrupting the actions of the guy. The prisoner dropped the cigarettes and slammed his hand down on the table, standing up. Dean laughed and spread his hands out in an apologetic gesture. "Sorry. Hey, it's a cruel game my friend."

The guy flung his cards down on the table and stalked off. I rolled my eyes and sat down opposite Dean, who was collecting up his winnings.

"It's like picking low hanging fruit," Dean commented with a chuckle.

"You don't even smoke," I pointed out to him.

"Are you kidding me?" Dean asked. "This is the currency of the realm." I looked at him and shook my head. It was slightly disturbing how much Dean knew about prison, he just had to stop watching those documentaries on prison life that he was always tuning in to. I found it distressing how comfortable he was in this place.

"Look. I got a good lead on Moody," I said to him, changing the subject.

"Me too. His spirit paid a little visit last night," Dean said to me. I felt my heart stop.

"What?" I asked.

"The clock stopped, the lights flickered, cold spot... I mean, he did everything but yell 'boo'." Dean reported to me.

"Well what happened?" I asked.

"He walked right by me. Lucas wasn't so lucky. I mean, the way he was screaming... guy was a jerk, but he didn't deserve to go like that." He paused, thinking, and then looked at me. The fact that it could have just as easily been Dean and not Lucas who met his maker last night was not lost on either of us. I shuddered, wondering how I would have explained that to Beth.

"What'd you find out on Moody?" Dean asked as if changing the subject.

"Yeah, I think I know where we might find his remains. I was talking to a guy earlier who was there when Moody died. Guards took a bat to him, using his head for batting practice." Dean grimaced.

"Bet that would leave a lot of blood," he commented. I nodded agreement.

"Yeah, Randall spent the next morning mopping up the blood. It was a mess." I said to him. Dean looked thoughtful.

"This in the old section?" Dean asked, and I nodded. "How we gonna get in?"

"I got a plan," I said.

Dean smiled at me. "That's the Sammy I know. Come on, man, you're like Clint Eastwood from _Escape from Alcatraz." _I didn't really know what he was talking about, prison escape movies weren't really my thing, but I nodded just the same.

"The problem is, even if we do find something, how are we gonna burn it? We don't have any accelerant." I said to him.

Dean smirked and looked at me smugly. "It's a good thing I'm like James Garner from _The Great Escape." _He said, standing up and holding up two hands full of cigarettes. He turned and looked over at a group of inmates. "Hey fellas! Who's ready to deal?"

* * *

**_Dining Area  
_****Dean's POV**

Sam and I were waiting in line for food. I was thinking about the crazy ass plan Sam had and sighed.

"You sure about this?" I asked him, a little dubious – this was Sam we were talking about.

"Pretty sure," Sam said, throwing my own words from yesterday back in my face.

"Yeah, well, considering our circumstances, I'd like a little better than 'pretty sure'," I said back at him, two could play at that game.

"Ok, really pretty sure," Sam said to me. I rolled my eyes at him and looked over the spaghetti that was on offer. I smiled at the kitchen server.

"I'd like mine al dente," I joked. She looked at me without any expression in her face, plonking some spaghetti on my plate and slopping sauce over the top. I grimaced. I couldn't wait to get out of this damn place and wrap my mouth around a nice burger. "Perfect," I said to her, turning away and walking to a table where Lucas's friend from the day before, who I'd nicknamed _Tiny _was sitting.

"Save room for dessert, Tiny," I said to him, sitting down at the same table.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you, 'cause I couldn't help but notice that you are two tonnes of fun. Just curious – is it like a thyroid problem, or is it some deep seated self-esteem issue?" I noticed Sam watching out of the corner of my eye and took another breath. This was a stupid, stupid plan.

"'Cause, you know, they're uh, they're just donuts. They're not love." I pushed. Tiny shoved his tray toward me and punched me in the face, sending me flying to the ground with a searing pain across my nose. _Son of a bitch this was a bad plan! _At the same time the Warden walked around a corner where Sam was standing near two guards. I got up and hit Tiny a few times, smashing him in the gut, the guy didn't budge. Tiny grabbed the front of my jumpsuit and I head-butted him, hitting hard, I think it had more of an impact on me. I groaned, stepping back with a hand to my head.

Finally one of the guards interceded, putting a baton around Tiny's neck, holding him from behind. Tiny wasn't having any of it; he picked up the guard and threw him down on the table. The table withstood the impact a hell of a lot better than the time Cole had put Dad through the one at Bobby's. I was impressed. Now we had the guards' attention, the Warden and two others ran to assist the guard that had just gone down. Tiny had me in another grapple, grabbing me from behind. I struggled, tossing a look back at Sam who had slipped into the kitchen, well on his way to getting to the other section of the prison to salt and burn the blood of Moody.

I felt myself starting to lose consciousness as Tiny had me around the throat. A guard smashed at Tiny with a baton and I fell to the ground. A guard hauled me to my feet and the Warden grabbed me by the chin.

"If we'd waited any longer, you'd be dead," the Warden said to me smugly.

"You waited long enough," I muttered at him with a glare. The Warden shoved his baton into my stomach and I doubled over, gasping for air and coughing. I felt a hand grab the back of my head and then the Warden snarled at me.

"Do yourself a favour. Don't talk." He looked over at the guards. "Take them both up to the infirmary."

Tiny and I found ourselves in adjacent cells, wire fence wall and a curtain between us. I could see him silhouetted against the light in his cell. The rest of the infirmary was dark and unattended. I was leaning against the wall, resting my forehead in my hand, feeling a little bit sorry for myself. It'd been a while since I'd taken such a beating, the scrape along my face was smarting and my stomach felt like it had just done the tango with an angry kickboxing monkey.

"Hey Tiny," I said to the giant man.

"Yeah?" Tiny asked.

"Hey, sorry about the things I was saying earlier. Can't really tell you why, but I had to get you angry. So, uh... anyway, sorry." I apologised, I really kind of liked the guy.

"It's ok," Tiny replied. "Truth is I have low self-esteem issues. My old man treated me and my brother like crap, right up til the day he died."

"How'd he die?" I asked, curious about this man who had just opened up his life to me.

"My brother shot him," Tiny said frankly.

"OK..." I said, shrugging.

I looked up and there was a freaky ass looking woman standing outside the cells in the infirmary. She was short, thin, and had a bird's nest of a hair do. She was staring me down with crazy eyes. "Oh crap," I said, moving to stand up.

"What is it?" Tiny asked.

I didn't answer, instead looking around for something to use against the ghost. Anything at all. Iron, salt...I rattled the door on my cell hoping maybe it would just miraculously open. No such luck. The ghost just walked right through the fence she was standing behind. I looked at the clock, the time hadn't changed.

"What's going on?" Tiny asked again.

I spotted a salt shaker on my food tray and I grabbed it. At least it was something. The ghost came closer to my cell and then I was flung across the cell, hitting the wall hard. I fell to the floor with a groan.

"What is it?" Tiny called out, hearing me move. He couldn't see through the curtain.

The ghost had come into the cell. She put a hand on my chest and I felt it constrict, a searing pain running through my whole torso. I groaned in pain, still having the sense of mind to fling the salt I was holding at her. She disappeared before my very eyes, I fell back, gasping for breath and feeling like I'd just been electrocuted.

Suddenly Tiny called out. "Oh! No! No!" I could see him panic, his body silhouetted against the curtain and moving away from another figure.

"Tiny!" I called out, getting to my feet. I watched, helpless, as Tiny's body slid down to the floor, and all noise from his cell stopped. "Tiny!" I slammed and kicked at the door of my cell. "Guard! Guard!"

* * *

**_Motel Room  
_****Beth's POV**

I was talking to Sam again; this was starting to become a habit that I wasn't pleased with. I was feeling like maybe there was something he wasn't telling me about Dean, since for two night's running he had been unable to make it to the phone. I pushed back a mild feeling of panic and turned my questioning to Sam.

"Why is he in the infirmary exactly?" I asked narrowed eyes not able to assess his body language over the phone.

"_Uh, well, we needed a distraction while I snuck into the kitchen and crawled into an air vent."_ Sam said to me.

"Right...to get to the old wing so you could... do what exactly?" I asked.

_"Salt and burn Moody's mattress."_ Sam explained. It all sounded legit, but why did I feel like there was something I was missing?

"Dean is all right, isn't he?" I asked, starting to worry some more.

_"Yeah Beth, he's fine. I mean, he's probably a little beat up, but I'm sure he'll be just fine come morning." _Sam said, and I grimaced at the thought of either one of them coming to any harm inside that place.

"OK, well I'm coming to visit you tomorrow, I want to see Dean for myself, you have a very nonchalant attitude about these fights Sam, it's a little worrying." I said.

Sam laughed and I could almost see the rolling of the eyes. _"He's _fine_ Beth! Hell you've given him more bruises and bumps than this guy did."_ I sighed.

_"How did it go with Henriksen?"_ Sam asked, changing the subject.

I sighed and thought about my answer. "I don't know. I have given him enough information to run with, to see the truth if he really wants to see it himself." I said finally. "But he doesn't really want to look further than his own conclusions at this point."

_"What about the extradition?"_ Sam asked. I frowned.

"Still coming along, but won't be for another day at least." I said, "so we have maybe 48 hours, possibly less." I could hear Sam's sigh on the other end of the phone.

_"OK. Well keep at it, salting and burning that mattress should be the end of things anyway, but we need to stick around and check, maybe another day since the attacks have been happening at night. Then tomorrow we should be able to pull the plug." _Sam said. I nodded even though he couldn't see me.

"Ok." I agreed. "Stay safe and please don't let Dean get into any more fights!" Sam laughed and promised, hanging up. I shook my head. I was not pleased with the idea of Dean in the infirmary right now; I had no way of knowing if he was ok or not.

* * *

**_Detention Center Rec Yard  
_****Dean's POV**

"Wait," Sam said, looking incredulous. "So you're telling me it wasn't Moody?"

"Not unless he liked going around dressed like a nurse. Poor Tiny, man. Poor giant Tiny." I said shaking my head as we walked big circles of the yard.

"Wait, so this is – this is, like the ghost of some nurse who worked here or something?" Sam asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know man. I guess."

"At this point, 'I don't know' isn't working for me," Sam nagged. "See, uh, I thought we were done. I called Deacon. It's happening. We're getting out tonight."

"I guess we got to do some quick research then," I said to him.

"How? I mean, maybe you haven't noticed... we're in jail." Sam reminded me and I shook my head. Sometimes Sam forgot that the internet wasn't the only way to do research.

"Well... where did you get your information about Moody from?" I said. Sam paused and then looked around the yard, fixating on someone. Minutes later we were standing in front of some guy called Randall.

"So you want to know about some nurse?" He asked, giving us the once over. Sam nodded.

"Why do you want to know?" Randall asked, he looked suspiciously at us. I was tired and didn't feel like playing games.

"We got our reasons. But, uh, we'll make it worth your while." I said to him, showing him a packet of cigarettes. Randall took the packet and shoved it in his pocket.

"So this nurse, she would have white hair, one screwed up eye – is that ringing a bell?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember her." Randall said to us.

"You remember her name?" I asked.

"No, that's still kind of fuzzy," he lied, looking at me once more. Sam exhaled, giving me a slightly amused look.

"Give it to him," Sam said. I shot him an offended look.

"I earned these!" I said.

"Dean..." Sam said in a warning tone. I sighed and handed Randall another pack of cigarettes.

"Glockner. Nurse Glockner," Randall said all of a sudden, his memory coming back to him. "Nasty old bitch worked here in the 70s."

"You knew her?" Sam asked.

"I met her once. Had to get a tetanus shot. She damn near jabbed the needle through my arm." He subconsciously rubbed his arm, thinking about it. "At least I got out of there alive."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked him.

"I've heard these stories. I don't know if they were true. Cons love to talk, but we're all liars." Randall said.

"What kind of stories?" I questioned, curious about this crazy nurse.

"Guys would go up with a cold. Next thing you know, they're in a body bag. A whole rash of heart attacks – young guys, old guys." Randall said, looking around.

"Heart attacks?" Sam asked. That was how people were dying now; it had to be this nurse.

"Yeah. Story was Glockner had it out for cons and she did this, uh, Charles Bronson thing with a hypodermic." Randall said looking at us. "Anyway that was the rumour. Nobody every proved anything."

"Whatever happened to Glockner?" I asked him.

"I don't know. I finished my bit and left. Next time I landed back in here, she was gone." Randall said.

* * *

**_Dining Area  
_****Dean's POV**

"OK, so let's say those stories on Glockner were true," Sam said, sitting across the table from me.

"It's a thought," I admitted. "In life, she's vigilante. In death, same thing."

"Right. But how is she tied in with the old cellblock? And if she's going after cons, why kill that one guard?" Sam asked.

"I did hear in the yard that the guard wasn't exactly squeaky clean, so maybe she's going after anybody that breaks a law, like me." I said to him.

"You heard in the yard?" Sam asked me incredulously. He'd never been one to appreciate the finer art of prison documentaries, much to my disgust. At least Beth humoured me and pretended to watch them with me. I figured it was research, for moments like this, and she needed to know as well, never knew when we might have to send her into a women's prison, I wanted her prepared.

"Yeah," I said with a nod.

"Does it bother you at all how easily you seem to fit in here?" Sam asked me.

I shrugged, looking at him. "No, not really."

Sam shook his head. "All right. Either way, we need more info on Glockner. Is she buried – if so, where? And we got five hours to get it." I gave Sam a look which was pretty plain and clear. "No, no. Don't give me that 'we got to see this thing through' look. We are leaving tonight, no matter what," Sam said resolutely.

"I don't want to let Deacon down. We do owe him." I said to Sam.

"Yeah, but we don't owe him our lives, Dean." Sam said, giving me a pointed look. I stood up with a smirk. "Where are you going?" He asked me.

I gave him another grin. "I'm gonna go talk with our lawyer." I said. Sam laughed.

* * *

**_Interrogation Room  
_****Beth's POV**

I'd already been working on getting some face-to-face time with my 'client' when I got the call from Dean. The fact that he'd been injured in a fight gave me a little more leverage and Deacon had pulled some strings to get us an interrogation room instead of the usual glass window and phones to talk through.

Dean was already in the room when I walked in and shut the door behind me. I looked nervously at the security camera and then saw the light blink off. Deacon had taken care of the surveillance in the room too. Perfect.

"Hey," Dean said to me, turning around and I noticed a big graze along the left side of his face. I grimaced, walking over to tentatively touch it, making some sympathetic noises.

"Oooh that looks like it hurts," I said, he flinched a little when I touched it, and nodded.

"I'll live, how are you?" He asked me, turning those hazel eyes to me, hands coming up to hold me at the waist and as he looked me over.

I smiled at him. I figured if he could handle whatever was going on in here; my little emotional issues were nothing to deal with. "I'm fine." I said to him, running my hands down the front of his chest. "I miss you."

"Yeah, me too," Dean said with a sigh.

"So what did you need me for?" I asked, curious.

"Oh darlin', that is a loaded question that's going to take _hours _to answer," he said with a smirk and it made me laugh.

"Oh really? _Hours _huh?" I said with a grin, slipping my hands behind him and pulling him into a hug. He leaned down and brushed his lips along mine with a soft sigh.

"Mhmmm," he murmured. His kisses turned urgent and I wound my arms up around his neck, moaning lightly as he tugged at my shirt, pulling it out of the waistband where I'd had it neatly tucked, running his hands up under it across my bare skin.

"Dean..." I said, gasping as I felt him pressed up against me, his hot lips starting to work their way along my collarbone and up my neck. "Dean, you wanted me to do something for you?" I asked a little breathlessly.

He nodded, still kissing me and I started to unbutton his jumpsuit, running my own hands down his firm chest.

"Yeah, uh, I need you to go find out where some nurse is buried," he said, before claiming my lips again. His hand snaked its way along my thigh, riding my skirt up so he could slide his hand along my inner thigh. I groaned into his kisses and pulled away, gasping at the sudden contact.

"What nurse?" I asked, pulling the jumpsuit down over his shoulders, and sliding my hands up under his t-shirt, dragging my nails lightly along his back.

He moaned and swallowed hard, looking at me for a brief moment. "Glockner. She used to work here." He lifted me up on to the table, his hands spreading my legs a little so he could trail his fingers along my thighs. He resumed his kisses along my jawline and then started to suck and kiss at my neck, his hand moving deeper and brushing along my already inflamed and aching centre.

I struggled to concentrate. "We need to salt and burn her, otherwise we'll be staying in here, until we figure out what to do about it," Dean said and I groaned as he stroked a finger along me. I reached down and found him hard underneath what was left of his clothing.

I pushed his jumpsuit open just a little more, sliding my hand down into his pants, grasping his shaft and stroking its length, I was rewarded with a sharp groan from Dean and a little bite on the neck. "Are you nuts? Do you have any idea the kind of trouble you're in?" I asked him.

"I have a vague notion," he said, spreading my legs a little further apart and slipping a finger inside of me, pushing my panties to the side. I groaned, arching my back to him a little.

"Good, so let's forget about this idea of staying in here, you're leaving, tonight." I said, I'd already spoken to Sam about it, I knew he'd phoned Deacon. I squeezed his shaft a little, making my point.

"Beth..." He groaned with a warning tone to it. He was kissing me along my shoulders, his fingers working their magic down below, I found it really hard to focus on what I was supposed to be arguing with him about, but then, I guess that was the point. He dropped his jumpsuit the rest of the way and freed his arousal, pushing it in against me. I gasped as I felt him rub up against me.

"Dean, we have work to do..." I said to him, not really listening to my own words. He nodded and pulled at my legs, sliding me toward him. I gasped as I felt him work his way into me, groaning at the feeling of him filling me. "We don't have much time," I breathed into his ear, starting to kiss along his neck as he pulled me to him, hands coming up under my buttocks.

He lifted me and started to kiss my lips as we spun back toward the wall, hitting it with a bit of an urgent crash. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I gasped with each thrust while he kept us pinned to the wall, a hand coming around to apply some pressure to my clit as he worked his way in and out of me. I gasped, biting down on his neck, clinging to him.

"So..." Dean was saying, moving to my shoulder and burying his face in the crook of my neck. He groaned as he started to thrust a little harder. "Grave first," he said breathlessly, I moaned in response, nodding. "Then escape."

I felt my legs turning to jello, the same usual warm sensation working its way up from my centre. It was consuming and I moaned into his shoulder, as he drove harder into me. We reached our peak quickly, it had been a while for either of us, and the urgency of our situation wasn't lost on either one of us. I felt him shudder against me, his groans smothered in my neck as I clamped down around him; spasming and feeling my legs go weak. How guys did this standing up I would never know.

As if to answer, Dean groaned when the initial moment had passed and moved us to a chair where he sat down, I found myself straddling him, spent and tired, my skirt hiked up all the way around my waist.

"You're a great lawyer, you really go above and beyond, you know that?" Dean grinned and I laughed, shaking my head at him.

"Well, some services come with extra charges Mr Winchester," I said with a grin. I looked at him a little more seriously now that was out of the way, touching the side of his face again softly.

"I need you to get out of here tonight, ok?" I asked him, letting him see how worried I really was about them in here. "There's nothing you can do from in here anymore, the grave won't be in here." He watched me, a frown creasing his brow. There was a knock at the door and a voice called out to us.

"Five minutes!" I looked at him and pulled myself off his lap, starting to rearrange my clothing into some semblance of neatness again. Dean stood up, pulling his jumpsuit back over his shoulders, watching my every move.

"What's wrong?" He asked, realising there was something more to what I was saying.

"Nothing, I'm fine. I don't have the hard gig here." I said to him, tucking my shirt back into the waistband of my skirt.

"Yeah, maybe not," Dean said, his hands sliding around my waist and running soft circles along my back. "Then again, maybe it's worse being on the outside looking in?" I nodded; he had hit the nail right on the head there.

"Please Dean," I said, eyes threatening to start with the tears again. "Don't do something stupid and leave me alone out here. The extradition might come through tomorrow."

He nodded. "OK." I looked at him pointedly. "All right! We're getting out tonight, ok? You know what you have to do?" He asked; I nodded. "Henriksen is going to come after us."

"I'll handle Henriksen," I said to him, and he looked a little worried. "Don't worry!" I laughed. "He doesn't suspect a thing." I smoothed over my hair with my hands and shrugged back into my dress jacket.

Dean pulled me to him once more for a longer, gentler kiss this time. When he pulled back his eyes were searching mine and he ran a couple of fingers along my face.

"Be careful," he said softly to me. I nodded and pulled him to me for a final embrace. The door opened to the room and I stepped back quickly, the Warden was standing there; he looked at us curiously, almost as if he suspected what had been going on in here.

"OK, well thanks," Dean said to me dismissively, looking over at the Warden. "You're worth every dime that PD office pays you," he chuckled.

I smirked and inclined my head at him. "I'll get right on to that information you need Mr Winchester." I said back with a grin that only he could see. He nodded and I left the room, casting one more look back at him before the door was shut behind me. I sighed, and allowed the Warden to show me out of the facility.

* * *

**_Detention Center Rec Yard_**

**Dean's POV**

I spotted Sam across the yard as I made my way back down to the common area. He waved me over and I went to join him.

"She ok?" Sam asked. I nodded with a smile, it might not have been my best work, but I figured it would be enough to tide her over until I was free again. Then I planned on living up to my _hours _promise.

"Yeah, yeah she's fine." I said to him. "She's getting right on it."

"We can't wait to see if she finds anything," Sam said to me.

"We could give it another day," I said, ignoring the look he gave me and shutting out the lecture I knew I'd get from Beth if we stayed in here any longer.

"No, no, no. We're leaving tonight, and that's it." Sam said to me, sounding just like her.

"So we're just gonna let these people die?" I asked him.

"Don't give me that, all right? This was your stupid plan. I went along with it, but we're sticking to the plan." Sam said, his voice rising a little.

"Ok." I said, making a decision. "Uh, you leave. I'm gonna stay." I turned and started to walk away from him. Sam followed me.

"Hey, don't turn away. Don't turn away from me!" Sam shouted.

"Screw you!" I yelled back at him.

"What?!" Sammy said incredulously. "Screw you!" He said as he grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. I pushed him to get him off me. A guard grabbed Sam and I found myself pulled back against the Warden, his baton around my chest.

"All right, hard case. I see the usual methods ain't gonna work with you." The Warden snarled in my ear. The guard had cuffed Sam, and the Warden pushed me to the guard near him, I found my own hands secured behind my back as the Warden pulled on Sam's jacket, pushing him toward the building. "You too, sweetheart." He said.

The Warden followed the guard inside as they brought us into a large empty room.

"Take off. I want to handle this alone." He said to the guard, who obeyed him without question.

The Warden stepped up to us, a menacing look on his face, and then suddenly he smiled, putting a hand on the side of my neck. I realised suddenly who he was.

"Deacon, you are beating the holy hell out of me, man!" I said with a chuckle. We'd known he was on the inside, but he'd said it was best if we didn't know who he was when he'd called for the simple reason that we'd be able to play dumb if we ran into him at the facility.

Deacon spun me and uncuffed my hands. "Sorry Dean, I thought I was going easy on you." I laughed at that thought. "Just, uh, trying to make it look real."

"Yeah. Well, mission accomplished." I said with a shake of my head. "Beth isn't real impressed with this face you know," I said and he chuckled.

"Well I hope you managed to … pacify... her a little this afternoon. Not everyone gets some one-on-one time with their lawyers you know." Deacon said with a chuckle. "Especially not without cuffs, security cameras or a guard."

Sam was gaping at us and I chuckled a little at the whole thing.

"Well it's certainly one thing we hadn't tried before," I said with a short laugh.

Deacon patted me on the back in a proud father-son way, like I'd just sown a wild oat that allowed him to live up to some middle-aged fantasy.

"Well I can't say as I blame you," Deacon said. "She's a fine looking girl." I grinned and nodded. I couldn't agree more.

"Uhhh," Sam said, interrupting the boys' moment. He turned around, indicating his cuffs. Deacon smirked and un-cuffed him.

"Thanks," Sam said as his hands were freed, rubbing at his wrists.

"So, is it over?" Deacon asked us, getting back to business.

"No. Turns out, it wasn't Moody." Sam said.

"What?" Deacon asked, looking surprised. "Then who?"

"Uh, we think it's some nurse who used to work here, but we're shy on all the intel we need." Sam said to him.

"Which is why we should stick around until we find it," I said to Deacon. I really didn't want to let the guy down.

"Oh, hey guys." Deacon said, taking an envelope out of his jacket pocket. Sam missed it, he was fuming at me.

"You want to have this fight for real, Dean? We got to go." Sam said to me, shoving me in the shoulder. Deacon looked slightly amused, he'd listened to me bitch at Sammy a few times over the phone. How we got the job done, fighting and carrying on like we did sometimes was beyond me.

"I'm just saying..." I found myself shoved again by Sam and it was starting to piss me off.

"We've got to go now!" Sam said forcefully.

"Guys," Deacon said, but we were both ignoring him now.

"We are leaving Dean. Otherwise, we'll be leaving in shackles for Milwaukee, with Henriksen as company." Sam's eyes were flashing with anger.

"Oh come on!" I said, conveniently forgetting my promise to Beth.

"Guys!" Deacon said to us again.

"What?!" We both said simultaneously, looking back at Deacon.

"Uh, Beth, she left this earlier for you." He held up the envelope he'd been pulling out of his jacket when Sam had started to accost me.

"Would you look at that, she was quick. Man she's good." I said proudly, smiling back at Sam. Sam rolled his eyes.

"You want to, maybe, open it up?" He said.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, opening the envelope and scanning the papers.

"Wow. Glockner died in the old cellblock after Moody bit it. Seems they had a little inmate uprising. She got caught in the middle. They dragged her to a solitary cell and gave her a severe cerebral edema." I said, looking up.

"Someone bashed her head in," Sam said thoughtfully. I nodded. "Does it say where she's buried?" I nodded again.

"All right then, let's get you the hell out of here," Deacon said with a smile, moving to pull a vent cover down from the wall.

"Don't worry Deacon. We'll get rid of this thing," I promised.

"Good, because I want it out of my prison," Deacon said sombrely, walking back over to us. "Boys, uh... I can't thank you enough for this. I know it was asking a lot but you still came through. Your daddy raised you right." He looked proudly at us.

"Well, we owed you," Sam said, finally starting to get it.

Deacon pulled Sam into a hug and then did the same to me. He smiled as he stepped back. "Hope to see you again, huh? Just not in here, ok?"

I laughed. "Yeah, we'll do our best." Deacon nodded.

"Say hi to Beth for me," I nodded and then smirked at him.

"Oh, where do you want it?" I asked him.

"What?" Deacon asked, looking confused. I grinned at him.

Deacon grimaced and pointed to his cheek. I pulled my arm back to swing a punch at him. Deacon held up a hand to stop me. I paused with a frown.

"Uh... make it look real, son." He said. I smirked, and then punched him, hard. I kind of felt bad, doing it to the guy. But it was part of the cover story.

* * *

**_Little Rock Police Station  
_****Beth's POV**

I'd been called into the police station. I was expecting it. About thirty minutes earlier I had received the call from Deacon to let me know that the boys had successfully escaped prison life. He'd also said gone with the plan to sic Henriksen on to me so to take suspicion off him, plus give the boys more time to get to the cemetery and take care of Nurse Glockner.

I was sitting in Henriksen's office, staring at the man himself.

"It's an easy question. What did you and Dean talk about?" Henriksen asked me, pacing around the table in the middle of the room. I had glanced at the computer screen when I came in; my _credentials _were up on the screen. Good thing Sam had taken the time to set them up properly, of course that was half the issue the real public defender was having right now. Apparently someone had taken her information and used it to create themselves a fake ID. I knew it was just a matter of time before a flag would come up about that, but so far Henriksen seemed none the wiser.

"I have already told you. That was a private conversation between me and my client." I said to him, playing the confidentiality card.

"Right," Henriksen said, leaning heavily on the table in front of me. "And three hours later he just happened to bust out. Now, tell me what he said."

I stared at him, part of me wanted to tell him exactly what he'd said, but that would only land me in really hot water so I kept my smirk to myself.

"Let me make this simple." Henriksen said. "You don't come clean, I will put you on the hook for aiding and abetting," he threatened.

"Oh, that – that is ridiculous," I scoffed at him, refusing to be intimidated.

"You don't think that I can? You think this is some kind of game, lady? I am the last person you want to screw with. Now, _tell me what he said." _Henriksen said again, his eyes flashing with anger.

I sighed, looking at with frustration. "He wanted me to do some research. On a prison nurse who died in 1976." I said to him, dangling just a little bit of bait.

"What? Why?" Henriksen asked, confused.

"I don't know." I said with a shrug.

"What else?" He asked.

"They wanted to know where she was buried," I said, looking at him.

"Did you find out where?" He asked, and I nodded. "Did you tell them?" I raised my eyebrow and then nodded again.

"Tell me," Henriksen said, giving me a threatening look.

I sighed. "Mountainside Cemetery."

He stood back and threw a triumphant look at Reidy. "Am I allowed to go now?" I asked pointedly, raising an eyebrow at him. "That's all I know."

Henriksen nodded at me, his mind now on other things. I saw a flag come up on the computer over my photo and grimaced, standing up. Neither of them had noticed yet, but it would only be a matter of moments. I took a few steps around the table and pretended to stumble, grabbing at the laptop screen, and pushing it down as I fell into the table.

The screen momentarily down, I regained my footing, looking a little sheepishly at the Agents. Grabbing my bag, I headed for the door as I heard Henriksen get on the phone, calling for a squadron of cars to be sent up to the cemetery. I had to get out of here and re-join the boys.

I'd stolen a car, having left the Impala outside the prison for Dean and Sam. I climbed in it as soon as I reached it and set a course for the Green Valley Cemetery. They'd be waiting for me there.

As I reached the Impala, I saw Dean and Sam hurrying through the graveyard, shovels in hand. I got out with a smile and Dean gave me a quick hug and kiss, he looked relieved to see me.

"Did it work?" He asked, and I nodded.

"He's at Mountainside, but he's quick, won't be long before he figures out I gave him the switch." I said. He nodded, opening the door to the Impala.

"Which is why we have to get moving, come on." I didn't argue, climbing into the front seat, Sam had taken the back, anticipating that I'd want to ride up front with Dean after being away for a few days. He was right.

Dean climbed into the driver's seat and looked in the mirror at Sam who was looking concerned.

"Thought we were screwed before?" He asked.

"Yeah, I know," Dean answered, starting the car. "We got to go deep this time."

"'Deep,' Dean?" Sam said with a smirk. "We should go to Yemen."

Dean shook his head and chuckled. "Ooh, I'm – I'm not sure I'm ready to go that deep." He answered. I smirked.

"Well, I hear Rio is nice this time of year," I commented, grinning at them both. Dean snorted and pulled the car away from the curb. I wasn't sure we could get much deeper than where we were already without leaving the country. Suddenly our big open highway seemed like a little road navigating a dangerous area of landmines.

Henriksen was not going to stop now he'd seen Dean in the flesh, and I was pretty sure I'd probably just made it on to their wanted list along with the boys – they wouldn't know who I was, but they had a photo now at least. Now that I had the notoriety, something I'd been wanting for a while, I found myself wishing for the safety of my anonymity again. The grass really was greener on the other side.

"It's like a week's drive to Brazil," Dean said with a grin at me. And a few tens of thousands worth of fake passports, visas and bribe money. We knew Rio was just a super back up, a last resort when America decided she no longer wanted us. There was no way we would just do the trip on a whim. Even still, I wondered how bad we had to be wanted by the law before our back up plan became our only plan.

* * *

**_AUTHOR'S NOTES_**

* * *

Song for the chapter is _Dead, Jail or Rock'n'Roll _by Warrant

* * *

Big thanks to EarthhAngel for her ongoing support, proofreading, and overall fun in talking storyline. Not to mention our Dean & John obsession which gets indulged in daily :D (I had a joke today because I was so busy at work that I didn't even have time to chat on messenger. I believe my quote was "I have been so busy I haven't even thought about Dean once!" - and that's saying something, normally I'm obsessed with what's coming next in the story and playing it in my head, talking about it to EA, and so on. So yes, I was very busy this morning LOL)

* * *

Hi to all the readers, thanks for visiting :D I hope you're enjoying the story! Please leave a review and tell me what you like/don't like about the story and so on, I'm definitely a sucker for feedback!

* * *

P.S. Slowing down on the smut now, I promise. Wasn't even going to have it in this chapter, but who could miss the opportunity for a clandestine conjugal visit? Besides I had it written ages ago, wasn't any point in wasting it. Hope it hasn't turned anyone off - there's unlikely to be any in the next three chapters, so you'll get a break for a bit. (P.S. It's very hard to respond to questions if you leave Guest reviews, so if you want a response, please either sign in or PM me if you don't want to have your name publicly on the review list) Cheers!


	23. What Is & What Should Never Be

**Author's Note:** I hope you don't find it too hard to follow. There are two stories being told simultaneously, one from Dean's POV and one from Beth's. I have separated the different "realities" with triple lines, hope this helps. Just pay attention to the POV notes as you go :) Enjoy!

* * *

_And I wonder if you know  
How it really feels  
To be left outside alone  
When it's cold out here  
Well maybe you should know  
Just how it feels  
To be left outside alone  
To be left outside alone_

_All my life I've been waiting_  
_For you to bring a fairy tale my way_  
_Been living in a fantasy without meaning_  
_It's not okay I don't feel safe_  
_I need to pray..._

* * *

**WHAT IS AND WHAT SHOULD NEVER BE**

* * *

**Illinois (Present Day)  
**_**Beth's POV**_**  
**

My pocket was vibrating, the thrum going through my whole thigh. I pulled the motorcycle over to the side of the road and answered it.

"Hey Sam," I said, pulling my helmet off and tucking the phone under my hair.

"_Hey, I got you on conference with Dean," _Sam said.

"Hey Dean," I said with a smile, listening to the sound of the Impala in the background, he was driving around somewhere on the other side of town. It felt good to be back in the saddle of my bike, we'd picked it up between our last job and this one.

"_Hey baby." _Dean's voice said over the phone. _"How's it feel to be back out exploring on that thing?" _

"Awesome!" I said with a grin, looking around me at the dark warehouses.

"_Yeah, well that's not why I called," _Sam said, sounding stern. _"There's a cop car outside," _he finished.

"_You think it's for us?" _Dean asked.

"_I don't know," _Sam answered, but there was a worried tone to his voice.

"I don't see how. We ditched the plates and the credit cards," I said, and Dean murmured his agreement.

"_They're leaving. False alarm," _Sam said over the phone and Dean chuckled.

"_See? Nothing to worry about." _He said to Sam.

"_Yeah, being fugitives? Freaking dance party," _Sam muttered, he had been so stressed out the last week or so that we'd been on the run. We hadn't seen any evidence that the Feds knew anything about where we were, but that didn't stop Sammy from worrying.

"_Hey man, chicks dig the danger vibe," _Dean said over the phone and I laughed. He was right about that. Sam didn't respond, I imagined I could see him staring stonily at the wall, imagining it was Dean he was glaring at.

"_So you guys got anything yet?" _Sam asked.

"_Are you kidding me?" _Dean asked incredulously. _"You got us sifting through like fifty square miles of real estate here." _

"_Well, that's where all the victims disappeared," _Sam said.

"_Yeah well, I get at least squat. What about you Beth?" _Dean asked.

I was looking around, there was a lot of places to hide in this area. It was literally like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"A few warehouses I was about to go look in, but nothing much standing out in particular." I answered.

"_Well, I'm pretty sure we're hunting a Djinn," _Sam said over the phone.

"_A freaking genie?" _Dean asked, surprised. Sam voiced his agreement. "_What? You think these suckers can really grant wishes?" _

"_I don't know. I guess they're powerful enough. But not exactly like Barbara Eden and the harem pants. I mean, Djinn have been feeding off people for centuries. They're all over the Koran." _Sam said, filling us in briefly on their history.

"_My God. Barbara Eden was hot, wasn't she babe?" _Dean said over the phone, addressing me by the sounds of it. I grinned, that was a statement I could agree with. "_Way hotter than that Bewitched chick." _I laughed.

"_Are you even listening to me?" _Sam asked pointedly.

"Yeah Sammy, we're listening," I said to him. "Where do they have their lairs?"

"_Ruins, usually. Uh. The bigger the better, more places to hide." _Sam said. I looked over at the warehouse in front of me again, contemplating.

"I'm looking at a place that might fit that profile," I said to them, "I'm gonna go check it out." I climbed off the bike and put my helmet on the handle bar.

"_No, no, no, Beth, you wait for me," _Dean said over the phone.

"Dean, I'm sure it's nothing. I just want to take a look around," I said to him, "I'll call you when I'm done ok?" I didn't wait for a confirmation, just hung up the phone and put it back in my pocket. It vibrated again, Dean calling me back no doubt, but it was no big deal, I could do this. Dean would track my GPS anyway, I always had it on during a hunt, he'd be here in about ten minutes if I needed help.

I wandered down the side of the building finding an open door, and let myself in. The old factory had a lot of long hallways and I wandered down the closest one, looking around with my flash-light. Suddenly I was grabbed from behind, something was pulling me backwards. I reached and grabbed at its arms, trying to break the hold and then everything flashed a bright electric blue, and I felt myself sinking to the floor.

* * *

_**Old Warehouse (Present Day)**_

**Dean's POV**

She had about a ten minute start on me, I wasn't impressed. I pulled the Impala up next to her bike and phoned Beth again, listening to the ringing as I went looking for her. It rang out to voicemail and I sighed, flipping my phone shut and shoving it back in my pocket.

I took out my flash-light and hurried down the side of the building, finding a door wide open. I entered and followed the first hallway I came to. It was fairly lit up from the streetlights outside, however there were lots of shadows for something to hide in. I noticed a figured slumped on the floor, and recognised the lines of Beth's body. _Damn. _I hurried over and knelt down beside her, rolling her on to her back and feeling for a pulse. It was there, faint but steady. I breathed a sigh of relief.

I sensed the creature behind me before it reached me and pulled the silver knife from my jacket while I pretended to be fussing over Beth. It moved on me and I spun, attempting to stab it, but it was fast; way faster than I expected. It grabbed me and swung me into a wall, pinning my wrist holding the knife against the wall, he slammed it a few times and the pain caused me to drop the knife.

The Djinn opened it's left hand and there was an electric blue glow that started to flow from the palm of his hand, it matched the colour in his eyes. He put the glowing hand to my forehead and I felt myself starting to slump to the ground.

* * *

_**Bedroom**_

**Dean's POV**

I woke up with a start, the TV in the room was playing an old black and white movie that Beth liked so much. I looked over and saw that she wasn't on the floor in an old factory, but lying right next to me in bed... naked. I frowned and reached over to touch her, suddenly not sure what the hell was going on. _Where was I? Didn't look like a motel. _Beth murmured at my touch and rolled over to look at me with sleepy eyes.

"Hey," she said softly, reaching out to wrap her arm around my waist. "You ok?"

"Uh, yeah, no... maybe. Are you ok?" I asked, looking at her with a worried expression.

She frowned, leaning up on an elbow, tucking the blanket around her torso. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't remember that Djinn attacking you?" I asked, looking her over.

"Djinn? What are you talking about babe? Did you have another nightmare?" She asked with a yawn.

"Yeah, yeah I guess I did. Crazy huh?" I said to her and she smiled, leaning up to kiss me.

"I bet I can make the big bad dream go away," she said, licking her lips and then grinning at me. I felt my mouth go dry at the idea and leaned in to kiss her softly.

"I bet you could." I said with a grin. "I just gotta go do something first, ok?" She looked a little disappointed, but nodded, lying back and pulling the blanket up over her.

"Well don't be long," Beth said with a smile. I groaned and nodded, getting out of bed and tossing her another grin.

I walked into the living room and found my phone on the side bureau. Flipping it open I scrolled through the contacts, finding an entry for _Sam Winchester. _I dialled it, and waited impatiently for Sammy to pick up.

"_Dean?"_ Sam's voice came over the phone, he sounded tired and I realised I'd probably just woken him up.

"Sam?" I asked, checking it was really him.

"_What's going on?" _Sam asked, a confused tone to his voice.

"I don't know. I don't know where I am."I said to him, hoping he could make some sense out of what was going on with this Djinn.

"_What? What happened?" _Sam asked.

"The uh, the Djinn. It attacked Beth and me."I said, pacing the room.

"_The gin? You guys are... drinking gin?" _Sam asked sounding amused.

"No, asshat. The Djinn. The uh, scary creature. Remember? It put its hand on me and I woke up next to Beth, and we were in bed."

Sam chuckled. _"Dean, you're drunk. You're drunk-dialing me." _

"I'm not drunk. Quit screwing around!" I said angrily at him, what the hell was going on?

"_Look, it's late. All right, just get some sleep and I'll... see you tomorrow, ok?" _Sam said, hanging up on me before I could respond.

"Wait, Sam! Sam!" I called out but the line was already disconnected. I sighed and looked at the phone. I put it back on the bureau and saw some mail, it was addressed to Beth. _Elizabeth O'Malley, 53 Barker Ave, Lawrence KS 66044. _I flipped through the pile, seeing a couple of letters addressed to myself too, same address. _What the hell was going on?_

"Lawrence?" I questioned out loud with a frown. "What the hell?"

"Honey?" Beth's voice sounded behind me. She'd gotten up and was wearing a silky little robe cinched at the waist. "Are you coming back to bed?"

"Hey, Beth. Uh, I just uh..." I didn't know what to say, stuttering over the sight of her in that little pink robe and absolutely nothing else. She smiled and came over, cupping my cheek with her hand.

"Come on, come back to bed Dean." Beth said, kissing me softly on the neck. I groaned, thinking I wanted to do nothing more than go back to bed with her. But I wasn't sure what was going on here. _Why didn't she remember the Djinn attacking her? And where had that pink robe come from?! Why were we living in Kansas?_

I pulled back and smiled. "Sure, yeah. In a minute. You, you go ahead." I said to her and she smiled.

"OK, well don't be too long, or I'll start without you," she said with a grin, sashaying back through the livingroom toward the bedroom.

When she was gone I took another look around the house. A bookshelf had a bunch of photos of Beth and me in them, at various places in the country, one of us standing in front of the Grand Canyon, another at Niagara Falls. We looked happy. There were older ones from our high school days, we'd been together for a long time. Some with Dad, some with Sam. Suddenly I saw a photo I wasn't expecting to see. I picked it up, it looked recent, and we were all in it, all of us – _Sam, Beth, me, Dad... _and _Mom. _I dropped the photo on the floor and near ran out the door, grabbing my car keys that were in a dish by the front.

* * *

_**Livingroom**_

**Beth's POV**

I woke up to the sounds of a phone ringing, and I reached for my pocket, it would be Dean wanting to know where I was. I answered it, at the same time realising I wasn't in a warehouse any more. I was in a living room, lying on the couch. I sat up quickly and got a head spin, groaning.

"Hello?" I said on the phone. Cole's voice on the other end surprised me.

"_Hey girl. Now, I'm not supposed to have access to this sort of thing, but something just came to my attention and I thought I'd give you a call, see if you needed to... tell me anything... before I accused you of deliberately keeping secrets_." I frowned_._

"Cole what are you going on about? What secrets? Did Sam call you about the Djinn?" I asked her, confused.

"_Gin? What the hell are you talking about girl? You haven't been drinking have you? You better not be in your condition!" _Cole's voice chided me over the phone.

"What? Condition?" I asked, shaking my head.

"_Yeah, when were you going to tell me you were pregnant again?" _Cole asked and I nearly dropped the phone.

"Pregnant?" I asked, feeling my face pale.

"_Yeah, you know, that's generally why one comes in to the clinic to be tested with a pregnancy test. You're like a damn rabbit!" _Cole said, laughing over the phone.

"I'm pregnant?" I said, looking down at my stomach. If I was, I wasn't very far along.

"_Yep, about 8 weeks, mazel tov!" _Cole said to me. _"John is going to be soooo excited! Does Dean know?"_

"Uh, I don't know if he knows," I said, stunned, staring out the window. _Something very weird was going on here. _

"Don't know if I know what?" I heard Dean's voice sound behind me and glanced back to see him leaning casually against the archway leading into the kitchen. I smiled at him, relieved there was at least one familiar face, maybe now we could get to the bottom of this Djinn attack.

"Uh, Cole, I gotta call you back." I said into the phone.

"_Yeah yeah, you won't call me back, you know you're in trouble. Don't worry, I'll get you tomorrow, see you then!" _Cole said, hanging up on me.

I turned to Dean, getting up and crossing over to him. He was watching me, a beer hanging from one hand, he was covered in grease and wearing a ratty old t-shirt.

"You feeling any better?" He asked me, "you've been asleep for hours."

I nodded, staring at him. I reached out a hand and ran it along his face, he leaned in to my touch and smiled. I froze, looking at my hand, there on my left ring finger was a beautiful gold band, simply and elegantly studded with three small diamonds. I looked down, grabbing Dean's hand, he had a matching band on his only without the diamonds.

"What did Cole want? They're not cancelling on us are they?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? Oh, no, she said she'd see us tomorrow." I said quietly, still looking at his wedding ring. He nodded, pleased.

"Good, because Dad is so not getting out of that game of poker we have planned. I don't care if he did lose the Impala to me last year!" I gaped at him. _John? Impala? What the hell was he talking about? _

"Uh yeah, well, I uh, I don't know Dean." I said to him, looking around the house and spotting a wedding photo on the wall, we were young, really young... like twenty in the photo. Dean shrugged his shoulders at me and took a drink from his beer.

"If you ask me he just wanted to get rid of it, it's a lot of work to maintain her in pristine condition," he said, looking at the grease on his hands. I smiled.

"Yeah, but you love it," I said to him, which earned me a smile.

I frowned a little at him, still holding his hand. "How long have we been married?" I asked. He stopped, beer bottle raised half way to his mouth, turning to look at me.

"Uhhh, is that a trick question?" He asked. I shook my head. He frowned at me. "Five years next month," he said. "I haven't forgotten." I kissed him softly.

"I know you haven't," I said to him, reassuringly. He smiled and kissed me back.

"So what don't I know?" He asked again, raising an eyebrow at me.

I opened my mouth to try and answer him, but no words came. I was saved by the door bell ringing and I smiled at Dean, slinking away to a cheerful laugh and a comment from him.

"Don't think I won't find out!" He said as I reached the door. I opened the door and swung it open, turning to look out, who I saw standing there nearly made me faint on the spot.

* * *

_**Old Winchester House**_

**Dean's POV**

I was in front of our old house in record time. I shut off the engine and looked at the house. There were still lights on. Crossing the street, I thumped on the door loudly. When no one answered right away I rang the doorbell a couple of times. The door opened and I nearly did a double take.

"Dean?" Mom said, looking at me with troubled eyes.

I stared at her, barely believing my eyes. I felt my throat start to ache, and just took her all in, the proud stance, the long wavy blond hair, the caring blue eyes.

"Mom?" I said, my voice breaking slightly with emotion.

"What are you doing here? Are you alright?" Mom asked me.

"I don't know," I admitted to her, not daring to move.

"Well... come inside," she said, waving me inside. She closed the door behind me and I turned to watch her.

"Beth just called and said you took off all of a sudden..." Mom said to me.

"Beth? Right... Let me ask you a question. When I was a kid, what did you always tell me when you put me to bed?" Mom looked at me confused and worried all at the same time.

"Dean, I don't understand..." Mom said.

"Just answer the question," I said firmly to her.

"I told you angels are watching over you," she said softly, tilting her head to the side.

"I don't believe it," I whispered, it really was her. I walked up to her and enveloped her in a big hug, holding her tight.

"Honey, you're scaring me," Mom said, patting my back. I pulled away. "Now just tell me what's going on." She said.

"You don't think that wishes can, can really..." I trailed off, it sounded ridiculous even thinking about it.

"What?" Mom asked, looking at me with concern.

"Forget it," I said, pulling her in for another guy. "I get it. I'm just uh... I'm happy to see you, that's all." I felt tears come into my eyes, but I pushed them back, taking a deep breath and letting go of Mom. "You're beautiful," I said, looking at her, laughing a little.

"What?" Mom asked, smiling.

I started to walk through the house, marvelling at how different it seemed. "Hey, when I was uh... when I was young was there ever a fire here?" I reached a bookshelf and started to look through some of the photos there.

"No. Never." Mom answered me, watching me as I prowled through the house.

"I thought there was," I said softly, glancing up at a picture of Dad and Mom with me and Sammy as little kids in front of them. "I guess I was wrong." I saw another photo of me playing in a big cap, looking at the camera. I grimaced at the picture of Beth and me at the prom, what a disaster! Sam graduating in a cap and gown. The next photo was one that really stood out to me. It was of Dad, dressed in baseball clothes with a cap and baseball bat in his hand, ready to swing, smiling at the camera.

"Dad's on a softball team," I said softly, turning around and looking at Mom. "Dad's... Dad's softball team. It's... that's funny to me." I explained.

She looked sad. "He loved that stupid team." _Why was she referring to him in past tense?_

"Dad's dead?" I asked, before I could stop myself. Mom looked at me confused. "And the thing that killed him was a..."

"A stroke. He died in his sleep, you know that." Mom answered, shaking her head.

"That's great," I said.

"Excuse me?" She asked, with a frown.

"That – that's great. That he went peacefully, I mean. That... that sure beats the alternative." I said, and I meant it.

"You've been drinking." Mom said to me.

"No, I haven't. Mom." I frowned, why was everyone saying that to me? _Probably because I was acting like a drunk right now. Clearly something odd was going on. I just had to play the part for a little while._

"I'm going to call Beth and have her come pick you up, ok?" She said, reaching for the phone.

"Wait, no! No!" I said to her, placing my hand over hers, preventing her from picking up the phone. "Don't – don't do that. I wanna stay here."

"Why?" Mom asked.

"Because I – I miss the place. It's ok, you – you go to bed, ok?" I went over and sat on the couch, just taking it all in. Mom followed me and stroked a hand along my face, looking at me a little worried.

"Are you sure you're all right?" She asked. I nodded with a smile.

"I think so," I said to her.

"OK," she said dubiously, bending down to kiss my forehead. She turned and left the room, pausing by the living room entrance. "Get some rest. I love you."

"Me too," I said to her. She smiled and then went to bed. I stayed sitting on the couch, feeling lost and confused. _Beth didn't seem to remember a thing about the Djinn, so why did I? Or more importantly, why didn't she? And why were we suddenly living in Kansas, and Mom was alive? _It had to have something to do with the Djinn.

I looked over at a framed photo on the side table, it was of Sam's graduation, Dad and Mom both flanked him and I shook my head. Strange world this one.

* * *

_**Dean & Beth's House **_

**Beth's POV**

"Daddy?" I asked, staring at the man in front of me. He looked older, but not much had changed, he still had the same old crows feet at his eyes which creased when he smiled, his sandy blonde hair was shot through with grey which seemed to just make him more distinguished.

"Hey Bethie," he smiled, kissing me on the cheek and barrelling in the front door. "Sorry we're late," he said. I shook my head, watching him as he walked down the hallway toward the kitchen carrying a box full of fresh produce. "Your mother wanted to pick these from the garden," he explained as he placed the box on the kitchen bench. Dean had already moved to open a fresh beer and handed it to my dad with a smile.

"So you ready for this game tomorrow?" Dean asked with a smirk. My dad shook his head.

"I don't know if I should be getting involved this year, you Winchesters are a touch too competitive for my style of game." Dad said to him with a chuckle.

"Nahhh, we'll go easy on you this year, you gotta play." Dean said to him. I was still standing in the hallway watching them.

"You ok Bethie?" Dad asked suddenly looking over at me.

"She's keeping secrets," Dean commented to my dad, who raised his eyebrow.

"Is she now?" Dad asked with a chuckled. I threw my hands in the air and wandered back toward the front door to close it.

"Mommy! Mommy!" A little boy's voice called out to me as he barrelled in the door before I could close it. He wrapped his arms around my leg and squeezed.

"Patrick let go of your poor mom," an Irish accented voice sounded and I felt hot tears instantly spring to my eyes. I hadn't heard that voice in such a long time. I looked up and she was standing there, long, waist-length brown hair with a few of her own streaks of grey through it, though I suspected she was dying it at her age. Big brown eyes met mine and she winked at me. "He's a little excited about tomorrow," she explained and handed me the baby that was in her arms.

I said nothing, just nodding, staring with shock down at the baby in my arms, she looked to be about six months old. Mum walked past me and down the hallway, taking the little boy with her, he looked like Dean at that age and I smiled.

Dean came around the corner from the livingroom, wiping his hands on an old rag. He saw us standing at the door and grinned, coming over to shut it.

"You know this house is gonna be bursting at the seams before long," he said, kissing me on the cheek. I smiled and wondered if he'd listen to reason. Something about the way he was looking at the baby in my arms, smiling in mild adoration and pride made me think that it was unlikely he would.

"You ok?" Dean asked, looking at me. "You look a little pale," he said, holding a hand up against my forehead.

I nodded with a slight frown; I hoisted the baby into my arms and went to sit down, holding her in front of me. She woke up a little and cooed at me, I felt my heart break at the sight of her. Little Patrick came running up to me with a cookie in his hand, it was homemade chocolate chip, just like mom had used to make.

"Hey champ, where's mine?" Dean asked, following me into the room. Without missing a beat, Patrick turned and handed his cookie to his father with a smile, then ran out of the room calling out for grandma to get him another one.

Dean munched thoughtfully on the cookie and sat next to me.

"What's going on?" He asked, looking me over.

"You know what, Cole phoned, said you had some news Ella," Mum called out from the kitchen. "Did you get that promotion?"

I had no answer for that, I didn't know. I shrugged at Dean. "No, I don't think that's what she was talking about Mom..." I said, handing the baby to Dean and standing up. I started to pace along the rug in the middle of the room. Dean frowned at me and looked over at Mom and Dad as they entered the room.

"What's wrong honey?" Dad asked, looking at me. I stopped, realising that I was coming across a little distressed. One didn't tend to do that when they were handed everything they'd ever wanted on a silver platter.

"Nothing, nothing's wrong." I looked over at Dean, holding the baby girl in his arms and my heart melted. This was how it always should have been, why then did it feel so wrong?

My mother was studying me in the way that she always used to, eyes taking it all in. I shifted uncomfortably and looked at her. She gasped all of a sudden, and then looked at Dean in delight.

"Did you know? Why didn't you tell me you naughty boy?" She said to him. Dean looked at her confused. I gaped. She'd just done it again, dammit, I swear she was near on psychic. She said the angels talked to her when I was a child, now I was an adult and seeing it, I was starting to wonder if they really did.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, confused.

"She has another wee one on the way!" Mom said excitedly and Dean looked a little pale.

"Really?" He asked, looking up at me with a twinkle in his eye. I nodded quietly, wondering whether it was going to freak him the hell out. He jumped up with the baby in his arms and came over to hug me.

"That's great," he said with a smile, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. I smiled back at him, he looked so happy, and I so wanted to believe it. But … it just seemed too good to be true. And when something seemed that way, it usually was.

* * *

_**Professor's Office**_

**Dean's POV**

I decided to go visit a professor at the local college, he specialised in history and mythology. "I don't think I've seen you in my class before," the Professor said to me, giving me the once over.

"You kiddin' me? I love your lectures. You... you make learning fun!" He laughed with me and I relaxed a little bit. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"So what can I do for you?" He asked me, leaning against his desk casually.

"What can you tell me about Djinns?" I asked. He looked intrigued.

Half an hour later we were standing over a bunch of books from all over the world.

"A lot of Muslims believed the Djinn are very real. They're mentioned in the Koran," the Professor said to me, flipping a couple of pages on one of his books. I'd heard a lot of this from Sammy, I had been hoping for something new.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know. Get to the wish part." I said to him. He looked at me confused.

"What about it?"

"Do you really think they could do it?" I asked, he looked at me a little oddly, but then, I was used to that.

"Um... Uh, no. No. I don't think they can really do it. You understand these are mythic creatures?" The professor said to me.

"Yeah, I know. I... know. I know. But uh...I mean in the stories. You know. Say you had a wish. But you never even said it out loud. You know, like that a loved one never died. Or that ah, something awful never happened." I said to him.

"Supposedly, yes. I mean they have Godlike power. They can alter reality however they want. Past. Present. Future." He said to me. Alter reality, now it sounded like we were getting somewhere.

"Why would the Djinn do it?" I muttered to myself. "Was it self-defense? Or maybe it's not really evil." I said, pondering.

"Son?" The professor asked, lost by what I was saying.

"Hm?" I asked, looking up at him.

"You been drinking?" He asked me and I sighed.

"Everybody keeps asking me that. But uh... No." I said with a shake of my head.

I frowned. So the Djinn could alter our reality, was that what was going on here? Why was it that I seemed to be able to remember who I was, but Beth couldn't? Was Beth in danger from this creature just as I was? Had she gotten away and was this all a figment of my own imagination, or the creatures illusions?

I left the professor and headed down to the Impala. Opening the trunk to have a look inside. No armoury, just old magazines, paper cups and a rag. I grinned.

"Who'd have thought baby. We're civilians," I said thoughtfully to the car with a laugh. I closed the trunk and looked across at the building in front of me. My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I could have sworn I'd just seen Beth in the crowd. Only unlike the Beth I'd just left, this one looked bedraggled and pale, sickly even.

I started to rush toward her, calling out her name. She startled and looked at me, starting to walk my way, and then a car nearly hit me. They screeched to a halt to avoid running over me, but it was enough to break my gaze from her. The driver hit the horn and I jumped out of the way of the car. By the time I'd turned back, Beth was gone. I flipped through my cell phone and found Beth's number, giving her a call.

"_Hello?" _Beth's voice sounded on the other end.

"Beth?" I asked.

"_Dean, hey are you ok?" _She asked, worry sounding in her voice.

"Yeah, yeah I'm ok. Hey where are you?" I asked, looking around for the girl I'd just seen. "You're not at the college are you?"

"_What? College? No babe, I'm at home. I'm worried about you, why didn't you come home last night?" _

"I uh, I don't know, I just wanted to be around the old house, you know? I'm worried about Mom, now that Dad's gone..." I came up with some random excuse she might buy until I could figure out what was going on.

"_OK, well that's great Dean. You probably need to spend some more time with Mary." _She said.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Yeah I think I might start visiting her some more," I said to Beth, _in fact, I might go there right now. _"I'll talk to you later huh?"

"_OK, well I'll be here, don't forget Sam's coming later," _she said and I nodded even though she couldn't see me.

"OK. I'll see you in a while." I hung up the phone and got in the Impala, starting her up. I cast one more glance around, just in case, but there was nothing out of the ordinary. My mind started turning, going through all the information the professor had given me about Djinn. Somehow I just knew this weird world was to do with the attack from it, I just didn't know what to do about it yet. I did the next best thing, I went to Mom's for lunch.

Mom placed a big sandwich in front of me and I grabbed it, taking a bite and chewing appreciatively.

"Mmm, this is the best sandwich ever!" I called out to Mom who had gone back into the kitchen.

"Thank you," Mom said back to me and I grinned.

"I tried to get hold of Sam earlier. Where – where – where is he?" I called out again. Mom returned from the kitchen carrying a pitcher of iced tea and a couple of glasses.

"Oh. He'll be here soon," she said to me, placing them on the table and pouring me a glass of tea.

"Good. Dying to see him," I said, chewing on another bite of sandwich. Mom looked at me with a slight frown on her face, there was some obvious concern in her eyes.

"Sweetie, I … don't get me wrong. I am thrilled you are...hanging out here...all of a sudden," she said, reaching out to stroke a hand along my face. I felt like a giddy little boy again, here I was with my mom, eating a sandwich and talking to her like I'd been doing it my whole life. "But uh... shouldn't you be at work?"

I frowned at her and swallowed my mouthful of food. "Work?" I asked.

"At the garage?" She prompted, looking concerned.

"Right. The garage. It's where I work, yeah. No, I-I've got the day off," I said with a snicker, and thought about it. _Wonder who I was supposed to call that in to?_ "Good thing," I muttered, taking another bite of sandwich.

I looked out the window and noticed the grass was getting a little long.

"That lawn looks like it could use some mowing," I said to Mom, glancing out along the fenceline.

"You wanna mow the lawn?" Mom asked incredulously.

"You kidding?" I asked with a grin. "I'd love to mow the lawn." I said, and it was true, I'd never mowed a lawn in my life. Kind of no need when you lived out of motels or hung out at Bobby's house, which was mostly dirt around the house and car yard.

"Knock yourself out. You'd think you'd never mowed a lawn in your life." Mom said with an amused tone. I grinned out the window, this was going to be fun.

I started the mower up, it roared to life and chugged away in front of me. Gripping the handles I let the vibrations run up my arms, this felt like it should, a real life, doing real everyday things. I started to push it along in rows, making sure to get all the lawn. It was a sunny day, and everything just felt good.

The neighbour came out across the road and put some trash in the bin out front. I waved to him with a big smile, because that's what people do in normal worlds like this. He looked at me a little confused, but waved back. You'd think I'd never seen the guy before, surely I had seen him at some point? I kept on mowing, enjoying the moment.

* * *

Once the mowing was done, Mom brought me a beer from the fridge. I sat down on the front step and took a big swallow, letting the cool liquid amber run down my throat, it felt good, I'd done a good thing today. A car drove up and pulled to a stop in front of the house. Beth got out of the driver's seat and waved at me, I smiled and waved back at her.

I looked at the other people in the car, stunned. "I don't believe it," I muttered, standing up. Sam had gotten out of the passenger side, and the person getting out of the back was Jess. I walked up and gave her a great big bear hug, getting a curious look from Beth and Sam who were getting luggage out of the trunk.

"Jessica!" I said.

"You're uh... good to see you too, Dean," Jess chuckled, patting me on the back. I laughed, I couldn't believe she was alive! "Can't breathe..." she muttered and I pulled back, letting her go.

"Sammy!" I said with a big smile to Sam, he looked at me with an amused expression.

"Hey," he replied, closing the car trunk and raising an eyebrow at Beth.

"Look at you. You're with Jessica, it's... I don't believe it." I laughed.

"Yeah," Sam said, looking confused.

"Where'd you guys come from?" I asked, Beth frowned and came over to put a hand on my arm.

"I just picked them up at the airport, you remember?" She said gently. "They just flew in from Calif..."

"California!" I interrupted and she shook her head at me. "Stanford. Huh? Law school, I bet."

Sam motioned to the beer in my hand. "I see you started off Mom's birthday with a bang as usual," he said. I looked at the beer and felt a little hurt at the comment.

"Wait. Mom's birthday, that's today?" I asked.

"Yeah. Yeah Dean, that's today." Sam said with a smirk. "That's why we're here. Don't tell me you forgot." I looked around at my family, all standing here. It seemed odd that they were all treating me like some social reject, was I really that big of a loser?

Beth smiled and kissed me on the cheek, brushing a hand along my forehead and through my hair. "Well, you've been under a lot of pressure lately with work," she said lovingly. "I forgot to remind you too." I smiled at her and slipped an arm around her waist.

"We'll leave you to it," Beth said to Sam and Jess with a smile, pulling me toward the car. "Time to get you home and in the shower mister," she said to me with a grin. I raised an eyebrow at her in a flirtatious manner.

"OK," Sam said with a nod. "Thanks for picking us up Beth. We'll see you for dinner tonight." I turned and frowned. Dinner?

* * *

I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, sitting at some fancy table in the middle of a fancy restaurant, dressed up in shirt and tie. A waiter put some tipi looking monstrosity that was supposed to be my meal in front of me and I gaped.

"Wow, that... looks awesome." I said sarcastically. Everyone laughed at the comment.

"All right," Sam said, lifting up his glass. "To Mom. Happy birthday." We all lifted our own glasses and reiterated the birthday wishes. Mom smiled at us, looking stunning with her hair all swept up in an fancy hair do on top of her hair, wearing a fancy black dress. She'd never looked better, I almost couldn't take my eyes off her.

"Thank you," she said with a smile. We all chinked glasses and too a sip of the wine Sam had ordered. Sam and Jessica smiled at each other and kissed, I couldn't help but grin at how happy they looked. Beth leaned in to me with her own smile and I looked over at her, she looked stunning too, her hair tumbling down her back almost to her waist, I'd never seen it so long. I reached out to absently run my fingers through it, letting it fall back against her bare back. I stroked my fingers along the pale skin showing from her open backed halter dress, licking my lips a little.

"I was really worried about you last night," she said to me, concern in her big chocolate eyes.

"Oh I'm... I'm good. I'm really good," I said with a grin, running my fingers down to her lower back, making big round circles. I loved the way she tensed and shivered under my touch.

"OK. What do you say, later we get you a cheeseburger?" She said with a smile, eyeing off my dinner.

"Oh God, yes." I groaned to her, and she smiled at me. "How did I end up with such a cool chick?" I asked, it was something I often asked myself.

Beth smirked and raised an eyebrow at me. "I just got low standards," she said with a grin. I laughed and kissed her, feeling happy inside.

"All right," Sam said. "Jess and I actually have another surprise for Mom's birthday. Ah..." he turned to Jess and smiled. "You wanna tell 'em?"

"They're your family." Jess said with a grin.

"All right." Sam said.

Mom was smiling at them. "What? Tell us what?" She asked.

Sam held up Jessica's left hand and we all saw what they were talking about. There was an engagement ring on her finger and Jessica was smiling. Mom laughed happily.

"Oh my God! That's so wonderful!" She exclaimed, jumping up and hugging Jessica. Beth stood up smiling and going around to give Sam a big hug. I watched it all unfold with a heaviness in my heart.

"Congratulations!" Beth said to Sam, smiling at him. He nodded and kissed her on the cheek. There were hugs all around and then Beth was pulling Jess away. "Let me see the ring!"

"Congratulations Sammy," I said, standing up to look at my brother.

"Hey actually," Jessica said, drawing our attention to her. "Beth and Dean have an announcement to make too," she said and I saw Beth shake her head at Jessica furiously.

"What?" Jessica said to her. "Go on!" Beth shifted uncomfortably and glanced over at me apologetically.

"What? What's... going on?" I asked with a smile, having no idea what they were talking about.

Beth looked back at Jess, glaring daggers at her. Jess just laughed and rolled her eyes. "You gotta tell them all sometime." She turned around and slipped her arm around Beth's waist.

"Dean's gonna be a daddy!" Jess squealed, and I felt my mouth drop in shock.

Sam laughed next to me, and smacked me on the shoulder. "Now you've done it," he said.

Beth was looking at me warily, I figured she hadn't told me yet. I felt a grin come on to my face and I rounded the table to give her a big hug. Mom was clapping all excitedly and exclaiming about how exciting it was.

"Really?" I asked her and she nodded with a smile. "That's great, that's great," I said to her, kissing her. "You'll make a great mom," I said and she sighed happily.

I pulled back and Mom grabbed us both in a group hug. "I'm gonna be a grandma?" She asked, eyes shining happily. Beth nodded, grinning from ear to ear. Mom grabbed me in a hug and held me tight. "I just wish your dad was here," she said. I felt a tug at my heart.

"Yeah, yeah me too." I said to her, pulling back. Jess had come in and was fussing over Beth again, I let them do the chick thing and stepped back over to Sam.

"I'm really glad you're happy," I said to him, he looked at me and nodded. A figure moved in the back of the room near the entrance to the restaurant and I glanced up. It was Beth again. I frowned, glancing back at my Beth, who was still talking animatedly with Mom and Jess. I looked back at this apparition, or whatever it was and frowned. She looked sick, worse than when we'd been in New Orleans, her hair was messy, hanging around her shoulders, and she was dressed in a dirty version of the same clothes she'd been wearing the night we'd been looking for the Djinn.

I rushed toward her, passing a bunch of people who had just arrived for their meal and were getting seated. I lost sight of her just once, and then she was gone again. I spun around looking for her, then turned back to look at my family, they were staring at me looking confused. I couldn't blame them, I was confused myself.

* * *

_**College Office**_

**Beth's POV**

I was a part time lecturer at the local college; I learned this when my colleague Ethan called me wondering whether I had time to come in and discuss one of the class programs. I found my way to the college, leaving the kids with Mom and Dad – it still felt odd just to say it – and now I was in the office, finishing up a plan around Christian mythology. Good thing it had been around that, and that I'd actually decided to major in religious studies, and now taught it, I don't know what I would have done otherwise.

"Are you ok Beth?" Ethan asked me, looking at me a little curiously. "You seem out of sorts."

"Yeah, I just uh... I didn't get a lot of sleep last night." I said to him, looking around the room. A copy of the Koran caught my eye and I went over, starting to flip through it. "Hey Ethan, what can you tell me about Djinn?" I asked, looking up at him. He frowned and crossed his arms.

"Uh, well, they show up in a lot of different cultures and religions, mostly the Koran," he nodded, gesturing to the book I was holding. "But others too."

"What do you think they do?" I asked, curious, scanning the pages in front of me for the word.

"Do? I don't think they do anything Beth, they're not real," he said with a frown.

"Yeah, uh yeah, I know that. I'm just talking hypothetically. Like, why are they so common? Do you think that if they were real, maybe they actually had had the ability to grant wishes, perhaps?" I bit my lip, maybe that was the crux of the situation.

"Wishes?" Ethan asked, confused.

"Yeah, like the genie in the bottle. What if you had a wish you'd never even voiced before? Or a desire that you'd never even given any thought to?" I said, looking up at him.

He paused, a frown on his face. "Well, theoretically..." he looked at me and I nodded. "Theoretically they were very powerful beings, like demi-gods. They would have the ability to alter the perception of the people around them. Whether they can grant wishes, well I don't know about that. But like I said, it's all theory anyway, they're not real."

I thought about what he'd said. The altering of perception seemed right, but why? "Why would they do it?" I asked thoughtfully, looking around. "What would be the reason? Is it self-defense? Maybe they put someone into a headspin when they're threatened? Maybe they're not evil at all." I said out loud.

"Beth, what are you talking about? Self-defense? Has that guy been hassling you again in class?" I frowned and looked at him, shaking my head.

"It's nothing, just something I've been doing some research on, caught my interest." I explained. "I gotta get back to my family, Mom and Dad are over today," I said to him and he nodded, shooing me out the door with a laugh.

I wandered down to the front of the building where I'd parked my car. I was crossing the flat area out the front of the door when I looked up and saw Dean. He looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He was staring at me, unmoving. I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Dean?" I said quietly, frowning. I started to move toward him, he was just staring at me. I waved at him but he didn't even acknowledge me. I started to run down the stairs toward him and then heard a car horn and the sound of brakes squealing.

"Hey lady, watch it!" An angry voice called out to me. I glanced at the driver apologetically and stepped back on to the pavement. When I looked back up again, Dean was gone and I was left standing there on my own, a sea of students moving around me.

* * *

When I got back to the house I found everyone on the back deck, enjoying the sun shine. Dean was gulping down a beer and I went up to him, putting my hand on his arm. He looked at me, seeing the concern in my eyes.

"Hey, were you at the college earlier?" I asked him.

He frowned and shook his head. "No, I've been here mowing the lawn," he said, looking at me. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," I said quietly. "I thought I saw you was all." He grinned and pulled me in against him, hands coming around my waist.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, leaning in to kiss the soft skin on my neck, just below my ear. I groaned.

"All the time, whenever I'm not with you," I said honestly to him. He chuckled and then pulled back to look me in the eyes.

"Well, good thing we have such boring lives which means we can spend all our time here with the kids, huh?" He said, and I laughed, nodding.

"So did you tell Ethan?" He asked. I stared at him uncomprehendingly.

"Tell him what?" I asked.

"That he's about to lose you again, to another baby," he laughed, the corner of his mouth upturned in amusement.

"Oh!" I said, chuckling a little. "No, it uh... it didn't come up." I said with a frown.

There was a commotion out the front of the house, lots of happy laughs and loud talking. I looked up to see a bright eyed boy about Patrick's age come in. He had dark brown hair and was smiling broadly.

"Patrick!" He yelled out and I saw my own son came out running from the bedrooms, looking excited.

"Look honey, it's JJ," my mom said from her place on the couch. I stared at the boy in front of me. It couldn't be. Dean shifted a little uncomfortably next to me, shaking his head.

"Never get used to seeing that kid," he muttered, taking another swig of his beer. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, I still blame you – bringing home your college buddy to seduce my poor old man, I got a brother who is the same age as my son!" he smirked. I gaped. College buddy?

"Hey, there she is! Big secret keeper!" I looked up at the voice and saw Cole waltz into the room. She was carrying an overnight bag, and dropped it on the floor when she saw me, crossing the room to envelope me in a big hug. "You are a baby machine!"

I laughed a little awkwardly, and Dean rolled his eyes, heading toward the kitchen. "Can't believe you got pregnant again," he chuckled. "How much do you think Dad and I earn running that garage?" He laughed at me. "We're gonna have to put on a couple more men to take extra business!"

When John entered the room I couldn't help but stare. He looked good, bright and cheerful, an actual smile on his face. I hadn't seen him smile, a genuinely happy smile, in a long, long time. He looked younger for it. "Dad..." I said quietly, he heard me and looked over with a broad smile.

"Hey Bethie," he said in his low, husky voice. I pushed past Cole and crossed the room to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and holding him close. John's arms enclosed around me and he laughed heartily at the sudden embrace.

"Everything ok?" He asked, his voice suddenly full of concern.

I pulled back, running a hand through my hair and nodding. "Yeah, yeah. It's just good to see you Dad," I said to him, reaching up to touch his face softly.

He looked a little confused at me, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's new... but I kind of like it." I looked at him quizzically.

"The 'Dad'," he explained and I looked surprised. "It's nice, just don't do it too much around your old man or he'll start getting jealous," he said with a cheeky grin, just like Dean would give me.

I smiled and hugged him again. "I've missed you so much," I said to him, squeezing my eyes tight and fighting off tears.

"Hey, it's only been a month," he laughed. "A couple more and Cole's travel assignment is up and we can come back to Lawrence."

I smiled, nodding at him. "Congratulations, by the way," he said with a twinkle to his eye. "Never thought Dean had it in him to start a massive family. You've been good for him." Dean snorted from the armchair he had parked himself in, our little girl bouncing on his knee. I raised an eyebrow at him, now that was just something I was never going to get used to seeing – Daddy Dean.

My breath caught, sure there was something I was forgetting. Something from a long time ago. I frowned, and then looked around at everyone gathered. There was only one person missing.

"Where's Sam?" I asked, looking around.

"Who?" Cole asked, looking over at me.

"Sammy..." I said with a frown. "Your brother..." I said turning to Dean.

Dean looked at me, confused. "What are you talking about? Only brother I got is JJ." I stared at him, and then I shook my head. "You ok?" He asked. "Where would you get such a weird idea?"

"Nothing, I just... I dunno...must be the pregnancy, my brain is all fuzzy. So you never...had another son with Mary?" I asked, looking at John. He shook his head.

"No, there was never time... Mary, she got sick when Dean was the same age as JJ... cancer, so it was just Dean and me on our own after that." John said looked a little nostalgic, but his eyes picked up when he looked at Cole. She smiled at him and came to slip an arm around his waist, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"So are you going to go get ready or what?" Cole asked me, looking down at my clothes.

"Ready?" I asked. She rolled her eyes at me and chuckled.

"You're not getting out of it, we've all come here for your birthday, and we _are going out _and we're going to have a good time. I've organised Katie to babysit, so there's not going to be any kids around. _We are going out!"_ Cole declared, looking at me.

Dean laughed from behind me. "Been told," he commented with a snicker. I shook my head at him.

* * *

Mom had made the booking, and I think she'd chosen the fanciest eatery in town. This was nothing unusual for my mom no doubt, but where the Winchesters were concerned, eating at such expensive establishments weren't really in the budget for a bunch of mechanics – it wasn't really for a minister either, but apparently Mom budgeted well. I felt a little uncomfortable myself, staring at the weird concoction of a meal in front of me.

"Man, I'd kill for a burger," I muttered to myself. Dean heard me and chuckled, leaning in to my ear and kissing behind it.

"You know I love you even more for saying that," he said with a grin. I smiled back and kissed him.

"How'd I get so lucky?" I said to him, staring into those amazing hazel eyes. He grinned at me.

"Well you know, you had me at the first handful of sand you threw in my face," he chuckled. I laughed, and he sobered looking at me with a twinkle in his eye. "I might have asked for it though."

I smiled and Cole cleared her throat. "So... while we're all gathered here. John and I have an announcement to make." She looked over at John with a grin. "You want to tell them?" John leaned back in his chair, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh I think you're doing just fine on your own sweetheart," he said with a twinkle to his eyes. Cole licked her lip and narrowed her eyes at him, then chuckled.

"What?" I asked, looking around at the table of people. Everyone looked as confused as me except for John.

"We're getting married!" Cole said, holding out her finger and flashing around a diamond ring. Dean spluttered next to me, nearly choking on the mouthful of beer he had in his mouth, and I handed him a napkin to cover his mouth while gaping at Cole.

"Wow!" I said, jumping up to hug her. "That's great!"

"About time you made an honest woman of her John!" Dad said to her, clapping him on the back. John looked slightly uncomfortable but nodded at Dad. Dean was standing and moving around toward us. He shook John's hand and smiled, nodding at him.

"I'm glad you're happy Dad," Dean said, looking at his father with a smile. He didn't really hate Cole, in fact, they were great poker buddies, he just found it a little odd thinking about his father with someone who was his own age. It had taken the family a little while to open up to her, but when they did, she'd been adopted by everyone, my mom included. In fact, my mom and Cole probably had a closer relationship than we did.

I paused, suddenly thinking _where did all that history come from? How did I know that? _I excused myself and headed for the restroom, walking through the restaurant. I came across another table of people and froze. There was the same Dean I'd seen earlier, standing in the middle of the bustling room, seemingly invisible to the other diners.

He was still sick looking, his hair unkempt, a pallid colour to his skin. I glanced back and saw Dean sitting back down at the table exchanging some banter with my dad. When I turned around the other Dean was moving toward me, staring at me. I backed away at first, running into a busboy carrying a tray of empty dishes. They went falling to the ground with a crash. I spun around, but Dean was gone. All that was left was a weird buzzing in my ears.

I felt the room start to spin and then I hit the ground to the startled gasps of people around me.

* * *

**_Winchester Home  
_****Dean's POV**

We went back to Mom's, it was good to listen to the laughter of the girls as we walked into the comforting surrounds of the home I grew up in.

"So, Dean, what was uh.. what was all that back at the restaurant?" Sam asked me, turning to look.

"Ah...I thought I saw someone I knew. Sure it's nothing." I said to him, he seemed to accept the explanation.

Mom turned to look at us all with a smile. "Well, I had a lovely birthday. Thank you. Good night." We all wished her a good night and watched as she headed upstairs to the bedroom.

"Well, I'm beat," Sam said, looking at Jessica. "Ready to turn in?" I gave him a stunned look.

"Sure," Jess said with a shrug.

"All right, good night guys," Sam said to us, turning toward the stairs. I reached out a hand, trying to stall for time. I'd barely even had a chance to talk to Sam, let alone ask him what he thought was going on with the Djinn, that's if he'd believe me. I couldn't understand why he was so keen to get to bed.

"Wait a second," I said. "Wait a second. Come on, it's not even nine o'clock yet. Let's uh... let's got have a drink or something," I said to them.

"Yeah, maybe another time," Sam said to me.

"Come on, man. Look at us. Huh? We both have beautiful women on our arms. You're engaged. Beth is pregnant..." I turned to her, "...which means no drinking for you by the way." She shook her head at me with a smile. "Let's go celebrate!" I said, thumping Sam in the chest with an open hand.

Sam looked at Jess and Beth. "Girls, can you excuse us? I just want to talk to my brother for a sec." The girls shrugged and headed out to the kitchen.

"Come here," Sam said, leading me further into the living room.

"What?" I asked, following him.

"OK. What's gotten in to you?" Sam asked, looking at me sternly. I was taken aback at the tone in his voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean this whole warm, fuzzy ecstasy trip thing." Sam said, blowing out a hard breath. He looked frustrated and confused.

"I'm just happy for you, Sammy," I said honestly to him, patting him on the arm again. It was all I ever wanted, to see him happy and enjoying life, to be able to live a normal life and have a family. He looked at my hand and stepped back again, shaking his head.

"Yeah, right. That's another thing. Since when do you call me Sammy?" He looked at me and I had no answer. "Dean, come on. We don't talk outside of holidays."

"We don't?" I asked, surprised. "Well we should. I mean, you're my brother."

"'You're my brother?'" Sam quoted at me with a raised eyebrow.

I laughed at him. "Yeah."

Sam ran a frustrated hand through his hair and looked away. His eyes were angry when he looked back at me.

"You know, that's what you said when you snaked my ATM card, or when you bailed on my graduation, or when you hooked up with Rachel Nave." He said to me.

"Who?" I asked, not recognising the name.

"Uh, my prom date," Sam said. "On prom night."

"I wasn't with Beth?" I asked, confused. Sam scoffed.

"Dude, why do you think you guys broke up? It wasn't because you forgot to feed her goldfish!"

"We broke up?" I asked him. "Wait, why would I cheat on Beth?" I was genuinely surprised.

"Dude, what are you drunk? I'd like to know that too, I'd also like to know why she ever gave you a second chance!" Sam said to me, fuming.

"Whoa, hey man, I'm sorry about all that." I said to him, apologising for something I very much doubted I'd _ever _do. But then again, I suppose Beth and I had had our ups and downs getting to where we were now.

"Look, that's all right man. I just... you know I'm not asking you to change. I just... I don't know..., I guess we just don't really have anything in common. You know?" Sam said to me, and there was a sadness in his eyes. It hurt me a lot to hear him say that, after everything we'd been through.

Sam started to walk away and I reached out to him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Yes we do. Yes we do," I said with a short laugh.

"What?" Sam asked with a heavy shrug.

I paused, thinking quick. "Hunting." I said; it was the only thing that came to mind.

"Hunting?" Sam scoffed. "Dean, I've never been hunting in my life."

"Yeah, well. We should go sometime. I … I think you'd be great at it." Sam started to walk away again, then turned to look back at me.

"Get some rest," he said quietly, giving me those puppy dog eyes. I stared at his retreating back. _This wasn't exactly my idea of an ideal world, what sort of a damn wish was this?_

* * *

I was sitting on the couch, thinking hard about all that had happened in this short amount of time. Beth came in and offered me a beer. I took it with a half-smile, looking at the label.

"My favourite," I said to her and she smiled. "I guess you know me pretty well." She sat down on the couch looking at me.

"Afraid so," she said with a smile. "You all right?"

"Sammy and I... you know we don't get along." I said to her.

"Well you don't spend a lot of time together Dean. I mean, I just think you don't know each other all that well." Beth commented.

"Hmm," I said, thinking hard again.

"For the record: he doesn't know what he's missing," Beth said to me, reaching out to run her hand along the side of my face.

"I can fix things with Sam. I can make it up to him. To you. To everyone." I said, looking at her, I could almost feel the urgency in my eyes. Maybe this was the way, maybe this is how I could fix things. Maybe this is how it should have been all along.

"OK. What's gotten into you lately?" Beth asked me, looking slightly concerned.

"This isn't going to make a lick of sense to you. But I kind of feel like I've been given a second chance. Like _we_ have been given a second chance. And I don't want to waste it." I said.

"You're right, that doesn't make any sense," she said to me. "Are you talking about prom night?" Her eyes looked a little sad and I shook my head.

"No, although, maybe it applies. I have been a complete ass to you sometimes, many times, I'm just lucky you stuck around," I said to her. I'd never said anything quite like it, and yet there it was. She smiled at me, looking at me with those innocent eyes that never held any judgment toward me. I leaned in and kissed her. "I get it."

"Get what?" Beth asked.

"Why you're the one," I said to her.

Beth smiled at me. "Well..." she said, and I silenced her with another kiss. She was breathless when I pulled away. "Whatever's gotten into you... I like it," she said with a grin, pulling me down and kissing me again, this time I leaned into her, taking it deeper. When I started kissing my way down her neck Beth pulled away with a groan.

"Ohhh... come on. Don't do this to me now." She said, pushing me back a little. "I've gotta get ready for work." She untangled from me and got off the couch, leaving me sitting with me hands out as if I was still holding her.

"Go to work now?" I asked her with a frown.

"Yeah, I told you. I've got the night shift on Thursday," she said, wandering into the bedroom. I got up off the couch and followed her. _Night shift? _I grinned, wondering just what she did at night for work.

"You work night at the, uh..." _Strip club? _I wondered curiously, but then felt a stab of jealousy run through my stomach. _How was that a good thing? _Beth was standing at the closet pulling out some scrubs. I looked at them and realised.

"... hospital." I said, with a grin. "I'm dating a nurse. That is so... respectable." I said taking a sip of beer as I checked out her rear end as she reached up for some shoes in the closet.

She noticed the look and turned to kiss me again. "I gotta get going, but hold on to that thought for when I get back," she said with a grin.

"Quickie?" I asked hopefully and she laughed, shaking her head.

"Cole is picking me up in..." she glanced at her watch. "Five minutes!" I sighed, shaking my head in disappointment.

I was sitting alone on the couch, Beth having gone to work hours ago. The TV was droning on in front of me as I sipped at another beer; Martha Stewart was discussing olive oil and cooking technique with the guest chef on her show. I flipped the channel a couple of times, landing on the news.

"_And today marks the anniversary of the crash of United Britannia Flight 424," _the reporter said on the TV. I leaned forward, stunned. _"Indianapolis residents held a candlelight vigil in memory of the hundred people who lost their lives..." _

"No, no, we stopped that crash." I said out loud. Getting up I went to the laptop on the table and started scrolling through the news headlines from the last few years from hunting. The people at the lake, Blackwater Ridge, the little girl who had nearly drowned that bed and breakfast, the children in that house with the skinhead when I'd nearly died. Even Reverand Le Grange was still handing out miracles.

I sat back with a sigh. A shadow passed me and I looked up, seeing a retreating figure move to the bedroom. _Beth? _I got up, moving after it, but it was gone by the time I reached the bedroom. I stared into the mirror on the closet door and hesitantly reached for the handle, yanking the door open.

The sight in front of me was startling. People hung suspended from the ceiling, drained of life, nothing more than corpses. The mirror showed her reflection behind me and I spun around. Beth! She stared at me, blood dripping from a gash in her forehead. Her lips were pale blue, and she was deathly white. She reached for me and I stepped forward, then suddenly she was gone, vanishing like she had never been there.

I turned around, looking back into the closet, neat rows of clothing hung where dead bodies had just been. My breath was coming fast and hard, I felt panicked. This really wasn't good, something bad was going on. _What was I supposed to do now?_

An hour later I was standing in front of Dad's grave, the headstone was simple enough. _JOHN E. WINCHESTER. 1954-2006. LOVING HUSBAND & FATHER. REMEMBERED FOREVER. _

"All of them," I said to the stone, like I was actually talking to Dad. "Everyone that you saved, everyone Sammy, Beth and I saved, hell even the ones Cole saved with you. They're all dead. And there's this sickly image of Beth that's haunting me. I don't know why. I don't know what the connection is, not yet anyway. It's like my old life is coming after me or something. Like it... like it doesn't want me to be happy." I paced in front of the grave, running a hand over my face.

"Course I know what you'd say. Well, not the you that played softball, but..." I stopped and sighed. "You'd say go hunt the Djinn. He put you here, it can put you back. Your happiness for all those people's lives, no contest. Right?" I frowned, starting to pace again, talking loudly at the headstone.

"But why? Why is it my job to save these people? Why do I have to be some kind of hero?" I felt the tears coming back to my eyes, emotions that I'd held on to for years and never let show. "What about us, huh? Mom's not supposed to live her life? Sammy's not supposed to get married? Beth doesn't get to have our baby? What, I can't give her a real life? Why do we have to sacrifice everything, Dad?" I looked down at the grave, pausing. "It's..." I had run out of words. Thunder rumbled overhead and the tears started to run down my face. "Yeah..." I shook my head. I knew the answers to all that. I knew deep down what I had to do.

* * *

**_Dean & Beth's House  
_****Beth's POV**

I woke up to Mom's concerned eyes. "Hey," I said, trying to sit up. I looked around and saw we were in Dean's and my bedroom.

"How are you feeling?" Mom asked me, brushing the hair out of my eyes.

"What happened?" I asked, slumping back into the pillow feeling weak.

"You fainted," she said to me with a frown. "Dr Monroe is on his way over to check you out."

"I feel fine Mom," I said to her, but I was lying, I felt sick and tired.

"You're not fine," she said sternly to me. "You look pale, you're clammy, and you _fainted _in the middle of the restaurant."

"Yeah ok, fine." I said with a sigh, looking up at her and taking a hold of her hand. "Will you stay with me?"

"Whatever you want Ella," she said, using the name she used to call me when I was a child.

I started thinking about all the things that had happened in my life, the good things, mostly the bad things though. "Mom...?" I asked her, looking over at her with her long brown hair hanging dead straight down over her shoulders.

"Yes honey?" She said, looking at me and squeezing my hand.

"Do you still pray to angels?" I asked, tears coming into my eyes.

"Of course baby girl; Why? Don't you?" She asked, looking at me with concern. I shook my head negatively and her eyes softened.

"Why not?" She asked.

_Because where were they when Dean and I nearly died in that car crash? Where were they when John sold his soul to bring Dean back to life? Where were they when Sam got possessed? When I lost my baby? _

I sighed. "You wouldn't understand," I said to her instead, looking away.

"Ella girl, you don't only pray to your angels when there are blue skies overhead. You have to be grateful, and give thanks every day to your angels for seeing you through the hard times, and blessing you with the good ones." I looked at her, tears building in my eyes.

"What if there are only bad times Mom? What then? Where are they when you need a little good to happen?" I asked, feeling the despair rise into my chest.

"Ella what are you talking about? You have a beautiful life here with Dean and the kids. You want for nothing. You think these things are just handed to you on a platter? Where is your gratitude?" She reprimanded me and I felt the tears start to fall down my face.

"You don't understand!" I said, sobbing, standing up and pacing along the carpet. Mom watched me with a sigh.

"Ella, don't go upsetting yourself now, we all have times where we lose our way," Mom said and I spun away from her. My head started to ache again and I looked up into hazel eyes. I staggered back.

"Dean..." I whispered, startling at his sudden appearance.

"What?" Mom asked, looking over at me.

He was the same as I'd seen him in the restaurant, only his skin looked a little paler.

"You don't see him?" I asked mom, not taking my eyes off him in case he disappeared.

"What are you talking about Ella?" Mom said, standing up and coming over to me. I stopped her before she walked in front of him and she sighed at me. "I'm getting your father! Maybe he can talk some sense into you!" She walked behind me and out there door.

"Dean?" I said again to the apparition before me. I reached out to him and he looked startled, then he moved toward me. Suddenly a searing pain stabbed through my forehead and I grabbed at my head with my hands, doubling over in pain. I reached for the handle on the closet to steady me and I saw more reflections in the mirror, this time of other people. They were strung up from the ceiling, some looked dead, others were dying. I spun around, but there was nothing there. When I looked back in the mirror, they were gone.

Dad came to the door and looked in on me.

"Bethie what's wrong love?" He asked, coming over and leading me back to sit on the bed. I felt him lift me into his lap and wrap me up in his arms like he used to when I was a child. I leaned into his chest and cried hot tears. Mom stood in the doorway, looking over at me with her arms crossed. I realised for the first time that as much as I loved her as a child, she had been so stern, it had been Dad who had been the comforter.

"She is just emotional from the pregnancy perhaps?" Mom said, and shook her head. "I will call Dr Monroe again and make sure he is still on his way. Just to be sure." She left the room and I looked up at dad who was rubbing my back.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked me, and I chewed on my lip.

"Dad, what is that passage in Corinthians? About the mirror?" I asked, looking up at him, my tears fading.

"Corinthians 13:12?" He asked, looking at me. I nodded.

Dad thought about it and then started to speak. "_For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully.._."

"..._even as I am fully known_." I finished, thinking. "Face to face, then and now" I said out loud. Was that what I was seeing? Could the disappearing image be of Dean, out there, trying to reach me through whatever the Djinn had done to me?

"Why would you be interested in that?" Dad asked me, and I shrugged.

"Just something that occurred to me." I said thoughtfully.

I looked up at him again. "What if you had a choice? Between this life and another, not so happy one? But you knew by choosing the harder path you would help a lot of people? Save them from horrible death or worse?"

Dad looked at me, a frown crossing his face. "Bethie what are you talking about?"

"Just answer the question Dad." I said anxiously.

"That is a decision each man, or woman, must reach on their own Beth." He said, looking at me. "You can only take with you your faith."

"What if I've lost my faith?" I whispered and he frowned at me. "I made a promise Dad, a long time ago, to someone I love very much. I can't just turn my back on that can I? Just so I can live a peaceful life with everyone I love?"

"Peace is in your heart Beth._'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid',_" Dad said to me, quoting one of my favourite verses. I sighed, leaning in to him, taking in the smell of his aftershave, the dusty smell from the church that never seemed to go away even if he changed his clothes.

"Is there love in this other life?" He asked suddenly, and I nodded.

"Well, _all you need is love." _Dad said with a chuckle. "Everything else kind of falls into place eventually Beth."

I laughed. "Did you just quote _The Beatles _to me on a philosophical question?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Dad laughed and nodded.

"I wasn't always a minister you know," he said with a grin.

"Thanks Dad," I said softly.

"Well I hope I helped," he said with a chuckle.

I smiled. "Yeah, you always help." I said quietly.

"Dad, have you ever heard of a Djinn?" I asked him. He looked at me puzzled.

"A what?" He said, genuine confusion in his eyes.

"What about the name Ruddhem, does it mean anything to you?" He shook his head, and I saw that this life, whatever this was, had removed hunting altogether. We were free of the demons, the killing, the torment.

"This really is a perfect life," I said quietly, looking over at the mirror on the closet door.

"Well nothing is perfect Bethie, but we certainly have been blessed," he said to me, brushing the hair from my face to behind my back.

I nodded and looked up as the doctor arrived, Mom following him and giving me a stern look. I sighed and climbed off Dad's lap, sitting on the edge of the bed. I wasn't going to be able to leave until they gave me the all clear, and I needed to get away from here and soon. I had to find more answers.

* * *

_**Winchester House**_

**Dean's POV**

I crept in through the window. It was late and I was fairly certain everyone should be asleep by now. I had to get to the silver knives Mom kept. I was rummaging through the cabinets in the living room when Sam attacked me. He swung a bat at me, I countered it, easily disarming him and throwing him to the ground.

"That was so easy, I'm embarrassed for you." I said to him with a smirk, holding him to the floor.

"Dean? What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked, I got up and Sam scrambled to his feet.

"I was looking for a beer," I said to him.

"In the china cabinet?" Sam asked me. He turned on the light and he got a good look at the silverware I had been in the process of pilfering.

"That's mom's silver." Sam said.

"Sam," I said, reaching out my hands to pacify him.

"What, you … broke into the house … to steal Mom's silver?" He said sounding not all that surprised, mostly disappointed in me.

"It's not what it looks like. OK. I didn't have a choice," I said to him.

"Oh really? Why? What's so damn important you gotta steal from your own mother?" Sam asked.

"You want the truth?" I said, wondering if I really should tell him.

"Yeah, yeah I do," Sam said with a nod.

_He won't believe me. _"I owe somebody money," I said with a shrug, telling him what he expected to hear.

"Who?" Sam asked.

"A bookie. I lost big on a game, I gotta bring him the cash tonight." I lied to him.

"I can't believe we're even related," Sam said to me heavily, his voice clearly speaking his disappointment.

"Sam, I'm sorry," I said to him.

"Yeah," Sam said quietly, not looking me in the eye, instead staring at something on the floor.

"I'm sorry we don't get along. And I wish to hell I could stay and fix it. But I gotta do this. People's lives depend on it." I turned around and took a knife from the box.

"What are you talking about Dean?" Sam asked, sounding confused.

"Nothing. Forget it. Just uh... hey, tell Mom I love her." I walked away, stopping as I reached the door. "Tell Beth I'm sorry, ok?" Sam frowned when I said that and came after me.

"Dean," he said, looking at me.

"I'll see you, Sammy." I said with a smile. I cast one last glance at him and then walked out the door. I hurried down the front path to the Impala before I had a chance to change my mind, getting in I started up the engine, and sat there for a moment, just thinking and trying to reason my way out of what I was about to do.

The passenger door opened and Sam got in the car.

"Get out of the car," I said to him.

"I'm going with you." Sam said, shaking his head.

"You're just gonna slow me down," I said to him. This Sammy didn't know how to fight, he'd never picked up a knife in his life unless it was to cut a steak.

"Tough," Sam said stubbornly to me. Now this was the Sammy I knew.

"This is dangerous and you could get hurt," I said to him.

"Yeah, and so could you Dean," Sam said right back at me. I sighed heavily and glared at him. "Look, whatever stupid thing you're about to do, you're not doing it alone, and that's that."

"I don't understand," I said to him, confused. "Why are you doing this?"

Sam sighed and looked over at me. "Because you're still my brother." I grinned at him.

"Bitch," I said, waiting for his reply. It never came.

"What are you calling me a bitch for?" Sam asked, frowning.

"You're supposed to say 'jerk'," I said to him. Talking about a favourite thing Sam and I always did together.

"What?" He asked, confused.

"Never mind," I muttered, putting the Impala into gear. Yeah, this was gonna be a laugh a minute this trip.

After a while on the road, Sam became curious about the bag on the seat between us. He kept looking at it until curiosity got the better of him.

"What's in the bag?" Sam asked me, his eyes were suspicious and he was looking at me with a compassion that was infuriating. He had no idea, _no idea _what the hell was going on here, and he was looking at me like I was the one who needed help? _Bitch, please! _

"Nothing," I said dismissively, keeping my eyes on the road.

"Nothing?" Sam asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, nothing." I said again with a nod.

"Fine!" Sam said stubbornly, reaching for the bag. He started to open it and I grimaced, he wasn't going to like what he found in that bag.

"You don't want to do that," I said to him. He ignored me and pulled out a container, I chuckled a bit at his shocked expression.

"What the hell is this?" Sam asked, looking over at me.

"Blood," I said simply. It was pretty freaking obvious.

"Yeah, I can see that it's blood, Dean! What the hell is it doing in here?" He asked.

"You don't really wanna know," I said to him. I wondered how much I was going to have to tell him, to get him to see sense. He sure as hell wasn't going to get why I was doing this.

"No I – I do really wanna know. I really, really do," Sam said haltingly to me.

I sighed, contemplating, looking at the innocence in his face. "Yeah, well you're gonna find out sooner or later," I muttered, looking over at him again. "I needed a silver knife diffed in lamb's blood." It was the only way to kill a Djinn.

"You needed a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood...why?" Sam asked patiently, his voice still very incredulous.

"Because there's this creature. A Djinn. And I have to hunt it," I explained, it sounded crazy even to me. Sam was going to freak!

"OK. Um... stop the car," Sam said.

"I know how it sounds!" I said to him.

"Great. Just... stop the car," he said to me again.

"It's the truth, Sam. All right. There are things out there in the dark. There – there – there are bad things. There are nightmare things. And people have to be saved, and if we don't save them, nobody will." I repeated the same old thing over and over in my head, justifying why I had to go through with this.

Sam looked at me with those puppy dog eyes, if I didn't know them so well I would have falled right for the look. "Look, I wanna help you, all right? I really really do, but you're having some kind of psychotic breakdown so... just..."

"I wish." I muttered. A breakdown would be the least of my troubles right now.

Sam picked up his phone and started dialling a number. I rolled down my window and grabbed the phone out of Sam's hand, throwing it out on to the road, rolling up my window again.

"What the hell was that Dean? That was my phone!" Sam yelled.

"I'm not going to a rubber room, Sammy. And we've got work to do." I told him.

"What? I was just trying to help you out Dean. I don't, I don't want you to get yourself hurt." Sam said to me, worry in his eyes.

"What? You protect me?" I said to him with a shocked look.

"Yeah!" Sam said with a nod.

I laughed out loud. "That's hilarious! Why don't you just sit tight and try not to get us both killed." I told him, reaching forward and turning on the radio, music blasted out the speakers at us and I settled in for the drive, ignoring Sam's wild looks and comments at me.

* * *

**_Winchester House  
_****Beth's POV**

I knocked furiously on the door to John's house. I knew they were home, the car was in the drive, and it was also after midnight. Dean had tried to get me to stay in the house, but I couldn't, I had to get some help.

John came to the door in a t-shirt and sweat pants, rubbing at his eyes.

"Beth?" He asked, looking at me. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I need to talk," I said, pushing my way into the house and walking into the living room where I started to pace. "I don't know what to do Dad, I need your help."

"Bethie, calm down. What's wrong?" He asked, flipping on the lights and moving to grasp me by the arms. "Where's Dean? Why aren't you home?"

"I can't... I don't... I think I'm in trouble." I said to him, looking into those stern eyes that had looked after me for so many years.

"What do you mean, you're in trouble?" He asked with a frown.

"None of this is real Dad, none of it! And Dean! I think he's in danger, and I have to figure it out before something terrible happens." I said.

He moved me to sit on the couch, eyes never leaving mine.

"Beth, that is crazy, Dean is fine. He's probably wondering where you are actually, let's call him." John moved to get the phone and I grabbed him, pulling him back beside me.

"No! No, he wouldn't understand. No one understands." I said to him. I ran a hand along my face.

"I have to get back to them," I whispered.

"Who?" John asked, looking up as Cole entered the room, looking at us puzzled.

"Dean and Sam," I said quietly.

"Sam? Who is Sam?" John asked.

"He's your son!" I said in a frustrated tone, jumping up and starting to pace again. "And I promised to look after him, I promised you!" John shook his head at Cole who grimaced and then left us.

"OK, OK, Beth, you're not making any sense." John said to me, reaching out and trying to get me to calm down.

"I know! I know how this sounds!" I said to him. "But it's the Djinn. It's done something to me, I know it has. And Dean... I think he's dying! I think I am too! I need to find the Djinn before it kills us." I said and I started to rummage through the silverware cabinet, looking for a silver knife.

John grabbed my arm and held me tight.

"You need to rest Beth, while we figure this out." He looked up at Cole who had walked back into the room. She had a syringe in her hand and I looked at her, starting to struggle against John's grip.

"Wait, what is that? What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's just a sedative Beth, you're not well, it'll help you get some sleep and we can get you some help in the morning." Cole said to me, her eyes full of worry.

"No! Wait you can't do this! Dad please. Don't do this! I'm not crazy, I need your help!" I looked at John with panic and his eyes softened.

"I am helping you baby girl," he said to me, and then his eyes flashed blue and I gasped in horror, seeing beyond the illusion for a moment, a dark empty factory surrounded me.

"Where's my Dad?" I asked randomly, looking back at those blue eyes. "No, please...don't!" I shut my eyes and said a quiet prayer. "Dean..." I whimpered.

"Sleep..." John said to me. I felt the syringe enter my arm, and then a soft soothing feeling washed over me before everything went black.

* * *

**_Factory Warehouse  
_****Dean's POV**

Sam was asleep when I got to the factory. I took my flash-light and shone it in his face, he awoke with a start and I chuckled.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around us.

"Well, we're not in Kansas anymore," I muttered, looking out the window at the factory. I smiled at Sam, thinking my joke was pretty good. He had no reaction. "Illinois," I said with a roll of my eyes.

"And you think something's in there?" He asked.

"I know it is." I said, thinking about Beth. I had to get to her, the real her, before it was too late.

We walked into the factory, wandering around, it appeared empty. But I knew it couldn't be right.

"See? There's nothing here Dean?" Sam said to me, pulling at my arm.

I walked down the hallway, the same way I'd come when I'd found Beth after she'd disappeared hunting the Djinn. Sam followed closely behind me.

"Look, Beth's gotta be worried sick about you Dean. Come on, let – let's just go." Sam said.

"Shhh!" I said to him urgently. There was a sound and Sam started to take things a little more seriously.

"What the hell is that?" Sam asked me, looking furtively around.

"Stay behind me and keep your mouth shut," I ordered him, inching forward into the big room.

We came into the room and I looked around, shining my light back and forward. I swallowed hard when I came upon two hanging bodies, drained of blood, just like I'd seen in the closet. _I knew this was related to the Djinn!_

"What the hell..." Sam muttered from behind me.

I turned and saw Beth hanging in the same way from the rafters. There was a blood bag next to her which was drip feeding from her neck.

"Beth!" I said, rushing to her side. I looked her over, her eyes were pale, washed out and clouded over, she looked dead. I started to panic, Sam gasped from behind me.

"Beth? Dean, what's going on?" He said. Beth started to move a little and I sighed with relief, _she was alive. _

"Shhhh!" I said to him, grabbing him. There was the sound of footsteps and I pushed him behind a shelf, hiding us from sight.

Beth started to cry and I had to stop myself from running toward her. "Where's my Dad?" She whimpered and the Djinn reached out a hand toward her. She looked at his eyes and startled, jerking away. "No, please... don't!" She cried softly, trying to move away from his hand. He touched her face and she whimpered. "Dean..." Sam had my arm, or I would have gone to her at that point, but I forced myself to wait, to take action at the right time.

"Sleep," the Djinn said to her, blue flashes washed over her face as he stroked her cheek. "Sleep..." Beth's head fell forward, and I saw her body relax, she had been pulled back into the illusion. The Djinn rested his face against her arms, touching her right arm and breathing heavily. I struggled against Sam's hold, wanting to rip it's head off. Then he reached up for the blood bag and put it to his mouth, I grimaced as he took a drink of her blood. Sam coughed in disgust and the Djinn turned around, hearing him. I moved us quickly and quietly while it stalked toward us. When it reached our hiding spot, we were gone.

The Djinn paused, looking around some more while I held my hand over Sam's mouth, keeping him still. Finally, after what seemed a lifetime, the creature walked up the very steps we were hiding under. The door at the top closed and I let go of Sam who started to breathe heavily.

"This is real? You're not crazy?!" He said, looking at me wildly.

"She didn't know where she was. She thought she was with her father..." I said, moving toward Beth immediately. "What if that's what the Djinn does? It doesn't grant you a wish, it just makes you think it has." I looked around.

"Look man. That thing could come back, all right?" Sam said, walking past Beth. He looked up and the lights started to flicker. I suddenly felt dizzy, like my head was splitting in two. I caught a flash of light, and it was like my eyes opened, and I was hanging from the roof, just like Beth. I could see her in front of me.

"Dean, please," Sam said, pulling me out of the vision.

I tried to catch my breath, panic filling my chest. "What if I'm like her? What if I'm tied up here someplace? What if all this is in my head?" I walked up to Beth again and touched her face. "I mean it could, you know, maybe it gives us some kind of supernatural acid, and then just feeds on us slow."

"No. Dean, that doesn't make sense, OK?" Sam argued with me.

"What if that's why she keeps appearing to me? Maybe she is the real Beth, and it's more and more like I'm catching flashes of reality. You know, like I'm in here somewhere." I looked around the room. "I'm – I'm catatonic, and I'm taking all this stuff in but I, but I can't snap out of it."

"Yeah, OK, look. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right. I was wrong. You're not crazy but we – we – we need to get out of here. Fast." He started to pull at me, but I jerked my arm back. Sam threw his arms out as if to ask what the hell was I doing?

"I'm not leaving her," I said to him, looking at Beth.

"What?! Dean, look man, I don't know what's going on here, but Beth, she's at home. That's not her." Sam said to me, and I shook my head.

"I don't think you're real." I said to him.

Sam sucked in an agitated breath, turning stern eyes to me. "Dude! You feel that?" He asked, grabbing my arm tightly. "You feel this? I'm real. This is not an acid trip. I'm real, and that thing is gonna come down here and kill us for real. No, please..."

"There's one way to be sure." I said, pulling out the silver knife I'd taken from Mom's house.

Sam backed off, holding his hands up. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing?"

"It's an old wives' tale. If you're about to die in a dream, you wake up," I said, pointing the knife toward my stomach, holding it out in front of me.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That's crazy. All right?" Sam said urgently.

"Maybe," I said to him, determined.

Sam started to walk toward me. "You're gonna kill yourself..." I reached out one hand to him, indicating he needed to stay back while the other hand still held the knife toward me. "Okay," Sam said, paused.

"Or I'm gonna wake up. One or the other," I said to him, gulping.

"OK. This isn't a dream, all right. I'm here, with you, now. And you're about to kill yourself Dean." Sam said with a concerned look.

"No, I'm pretty sure." I said to him, shaking my head. I paused. "Like, 90% sure." I said, biting my lip. "But I'm sure enough."

I took the knife by both hands and prepared to thrust it into my stomach.

"Wait!" Sam shouted at me. I looked up. Suddenly Mom walked up to me, wearing the same nightgown she was in the night she died. Behind Sam, Beth appeared, smiling at me in the same way she did every morning when I woke up and saw her. I looked back at Mom, and Jessica was standing there with her too, smiling at me.

"Why'd you have to keep digging?" Sam asked me, looking forlorn. "Why could you have left well enough alone? You were happy."

Mom came to stand in front of me. "Put the knife down, honey."

"You're not real." I said, tears in coming to my eyes. How badly I wished it was, but I knew it wasn't. "None of it is."

"It doesn't matter. It's still better than anything you ever had." Mom said to me.

"What?" I asked, frowning at her.

"It's everything you want. We're a family again. Let's go home." Mom said to me.

I shook my head at her. "I'll die... " I glanced up at the real Beth, or who I assumed was the real Beth hanging from the ceiling still, deathly still. "Beth will die...the Djinn will drain the life out of us in a couple of days."

"But in here, with us. It'll feel like years," Beth, the fake one, said to me, coming up and stroking my face. "Like a lifetime." I looked at her sadly, and then at Sam who smiled and nodded at me.

"I promise," Mom said to me, taking my chin in her hand. "No more pain. Or fear. Just love and comfort. And safety."

"Dean, stay with us," Beth said to me, stroking my other cheek opposite where Mom's hand was on me. "Get some rest baby."

"You don't have to worry about Sam anymore," Jessica said with a smile. "You or Beth. You get to watch him live a full life." Mom stepped away and Beth moved a little closer, kissing me and pulling back with a smile.

"We can have a future together. Our own family. I love you Dean. Please stay with me." I stared into her eyes, knowing it wasn't her, knowing it was all a trick, but wanting to give in to it just the same.

"Why is it our job to save everyone? Haven't we done enough?" Sam asked from where he was standing behind Beth. "I'm begging you. Give me the knife."

I looked and them and backed away, looking at the floor. When I looked back up I caught Sam's eyes, and then looked at Beth, she was staring at me, crying. "I'm sorry," I whispered, and I thrust the knife sharply into my stomach.

* * *

_**Warehouse (Current Reality)  
**_

_** Dean's POV**_

"Dean! Dean!" Sam's voice shook me, and I coughed, the taste of blood in my mouth.

"Oh God. Come on," Sam said, shaking me. "Hey, wake up, wake up, dammit!" I grunted and opened my eyes, finding myself still in the warehouse. "Dean..." Sam said, standing in front of me. I looked up and I was hanging from the ceiling, a blood bag hanging next to me.

"Hey, hey," Sam said to me when he saw me coming to.

"Ahhh... Aunty Em. There's no place like home." I muttered to him with a smirk.

"Thank God. Thought I lost you for a second." Sam said, pulling an IV out of my neck.

"You almost did," I said to him, thinking back to how close I'd come to giving up. To just staying inside the illusion.

"Oh god," Sam said, breathing heavily, "let's get you down."

"Beth..." I said as Sam reached up and started to cut through the rope at my wrists.

"She's here too, I haven't been able to wake her yet." Sam said. I winced and grunted, how long had I been tied up? Two blue eyes appeared next to Sam in the shadows and I startled when I saw the Djinn come out.

"Sam!"

Sam turned, swinging at the Djinn with the knife in his hand. The Djinn grabbed Sam and pushed him up against the wall, twisting his wrist so he would drop the knife. I struggled against the half-cut ropes, pulling on them. The Djinn was strong and got the upper hand on Sam, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him to the wall. He moved his hand to Sam's forehead and Sam grabbed at it, trying to stop him. The Djinn opened his fist and blue light began to appear around his hand.

I felt the ropes give and I yanked on them one more time, breaking free. I slid across the floor and grabbed the knife while the Djinn was distracted trying to catch Sam. As his had reached Sam's forehead I stood up and rammed the knife into his back. It turned and I watched as the blue light faded from it's eyes. It closed its eyes, and then its head rolled to the side, by the time I pulled the knife out, it had fallen to the ground dead.

Sam looked at me, breathing heavily, but my thoughts were only on Beth. I crossed to her quickly. She looked dead, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Beth! Beth!" I said, shaking her. A tear rolled down her cheek from closed eyes. I handed the knife to Sam. "She's still alive. Sam..." I pulled the IV out of her neck as Sam cut the ropes at her wrists. I caught her and lowered her to the ground.

"Beth... I got you, I got you. Come back to me, come on, come back to me." She didn't move, and I looked up at Sam frantically.

* * *

**_Winchester House  
_****Beth's POV**

I woke with a start, looking around. I was in the room that had been Dean's when he was growing up. It was now a spare room for when people came to visit. I sat up, breathing heavily. I had to get out of here, something was very wrong here.

Standing up, I tested out my limbs, everything seemed to be fine. I had made a mistake coming here, I needed to get out. I crossed to the door and opened it quietly. Voices were talking down below and I could just see down the stairs to part of the living room. My parents were there, as were John, Cole and Dean. The children played happily on the floor together and I felt my breath catch in my throat. _What if I was wrong? What if I was having a break down?_

I shook my head, frowning. I couldn't get out this way, I would have to go out the window. I'd done it countless times before. Dean and I had always been sneaking around as kids, in and out of each other's windows, never far from each other's sides. I frowned at the unbidden memory coming to mind, and wondered how this happened. _These weren't my memories. _

Falling softly to the ground, I turned to walk away from the house, coming face to face with Dean, who was looking at me with a worried expression on his face. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"Dean, you wouldn't understand," I said to him, biting my lip.

"Try me," he said, reaching out.

"I can't! I have to go find Sam. I can't just leave him on his own. We're all in danger." I said to him, tears coming to my mind.

"Dammit, what are you talking about Beth? Just leave it alone! Come back inside the house. Your family is worried about you, _I'm _worried about you. We need you, me and the kids, we need you. I have to get you some help." I felt tears coming into my eyes, I so wanted to believe him.

"I don't think you're real Dean," I whispered to him.

He frowned at me and grabbed me by the arms. "Real? Do I feel like I'm not real to you?" He asked, looking in my eyes. I started to sob, and reached out a hand to him.

"I don't know... I don't know." I said to him.

"Don't run off on me Beth, I can't lose you. I need you." He said to me. I bit my lip.

"But I'll die," I said to him, knowing it was true. I didn't know what was going on, or how, but I was certain I was dying, and that the Dean I'd seen around the last few days was dying too. It had to be something to do with the attack by the Djinn.

"Bethie," my Dad said, coming out from the house and looking at us. "Bethie you need to trust us." I shook my head. Mom, John and Cole were walking out with the kids, and I stared at my beautiful babies, my resolve starting to waver. _I had a family. I was happy. _

"We all die sometime. Stay with me Beth, we have years left, a lifetime together." He said and I stared. "I love you." He said and I shook my head. _He rarely said that. _

"No, no you're not real. You don't say that." I said, pulling away and stumbling back toward the road.

"Beth! What are you talking about? Where are you going?" Dean called out to me, reaching his hand out.

I spun, looking at the road, I had to find a way out. I saw him then, the apparition: Dean. He was reaching out for me on the other side of the road.

"Beth!" I heard Dean's voice come from out of nowhere. "Come back to me, come on, come back to me." I looked back and realised it wasn't the Dean in front of me I'd heard. The image behind me was starting to waver, and I thought about the dream teachings I'd studied years ago. There was a tale... something about dying in your sleep. _Was this a dream? Dare I risk it? _

I saw it coming and I knew what I had to do. Dean was walking toward me again and I put my hand out to stop him, taking a few more steps back. "Beth, don't do anything stupid. Your children need you, I need you!"

I shook my head, tears coming to my eyes. "Sam and Dean need me," I whispered to him. "I'm sorry." And I stepped back into the road, right as the bus barrelled down on top of me.

* * *

_**Warehouse (Current Reality)**_

**Beth's POV**

I felt the hit and then I was gasping for breath, arms curled around me, and I grabbed at Dean who was holding me in his lap.

"Dean!" I said, touching his face. "Oh god, you're alive." I looked around frantically. "The Djinn..."

"It's dead," Sam said to me, kneeling beside me with a smile. I grabbed his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.

"We thought we'd lost you," Dean said, worriedly looking into my eyes.

"You nearly did," I said. He nodded, as if he understood.

"Let's get you out of here," he said, moving to lift me but he was weak. Sam put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a stern look. Sweeping me into his arms, Sam lifted me up, Dean standing beside us.

* * *

**_Motel Room - Present Moment_**

**Beth's POV**

I was sitting in the bed, picking at my nails, they seemed fragile and broken. I wondered just how much life the Djinn had sucked out of me in addition to blood.

"You ok?" Dean asked me, sitting on the bed. I nodded silently, throwing him a smile.

"How about you?" Sam asked Dean. "You all right?"

Dean cleared his throat and looked at him. "Yeah I'm ok." He paused, looking at me. "Should have seen it, Sam. Our lives. You were such a wussy!" I grinned, trying to imagine it. At least he'd been alive in Dean's dream. I looked down at my hands again, feeling slightly guilty.

"So we didn't get along then, huh?" Sam asked with a smile.

"No," Dean said soberly.

"Yeah... I thought it was supposed to, to be this perfect fantasy." He said.

"It wasn't. Was just a wish," Dean said, reaching out to hold my hand. "I wished for Mom to live. That Mom never died, we never went hunting." He looked over at Sam. "You and me just never uh... you know."

Sam nodded. "Yeah. Well I'm glad we do. And I'm glad you guys dug yourselves out. Most people wouldn't have had the strength, they would have just stayed."

"Yeah... lucky me." Dean said with a grin. "I gotta tell you though, man. You know, you had Jess. I had Beth, who was pregnant... Mom was gonna have grandkids." Dean grinned at me and I felt that heaviness of everything around me.

"What about your fantasy? Was I in it?" He asked with a grin.

I smiled and nodded. "Mhmmm," I said quietly.

"I know your Dad was, you were asking for him when I came to," Dean said to me. I nodded again.

"Yeah. It was the perfect life." I said. "I had you, we had kids, my parents were still alive. Dad was still alive..." I left out the rest.

"Yeah, but... guys... it wasn't real." Sam said. We both nodded.

"I know," I said. "But I wanted to stay. I really wanted it to be real, so badly. There was no pain, no hunting..." I trailed off, not wanting to say anything more.

Dean nodded at Sam. "I know... all I could think about was how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much. We've... sacrificed so much." Tears welled in my eyes, and I wished I'd never seen a glimpse of that perfect life, of what could have been.

"Why did you leave then? How did you know it wasn't real?" Sam asked.

I looked over at him, sure he could see the sadness in my eyes. "I kept seeing Dean, like the real Dean, everywhere I went. And it was all too perfect, you know?" I said. Dean nodded.

"Yeah, me too. You were everywhere," he said. "I wonder why that was..."

I shrugged and sighed. "Still, it would have been nice. If it had been real."

"Well people are alive because of you guys. It's worth it, right? It is. It's not fair, and... you know, it hurts like hell, but... it's worth it." Sam said, looking at us. "Right?"

I turned on my side and cuddled up to Dean, wrapping my arms around his waist, not answering him. Dean looked at Sam and nodded.

* * *

Half an hour later Sam went out for food and I was still lying in Dean's lap, holding on to him for dear life.

"OK, so what really happened in there?" He said to me, and I looked up. He half lifted me up and pulled me to sit on his lap, brushing a hand across my face, moving the hair out of my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, chewing on my lip.

"Well you didn't go hunting the Djinn, you said as much. So how did you figure out you weren't in a real life? Something must have been wrong for you to see it." He pointed out.

I felt the tears coming to my eyes, and I blinked them back. I looked down at my hands shamefully.

"Hey, you can tell me anything," he said gently, and I shook my head.

"Not this." I said quietly.

Dean frowned. "What? You going to tell me you were off living the high life with Johnny Depp while I was dealing with wussy Sam?" He chuckled and it made me laugh.

"No, no we were together. Married actually," I smiled at the thought. "Five years, with two beautiful children and another one on the way." Dean smiled and brushed his hand along my face again, but he didn't say anything, letting me talk. "And Dad and Mom were there. It was … perfect. We were happy Dean. I was really happy." He nodded and kissed me.

"What about Sam?" He asked me, and I frowned.

"He wasn't there," I said softly, he looked confused. "That's what tipped me off that something was wrong. Dean... he'd never been born. And your mom, she'd died when you were a kid. We never had to protect Sam, because he was never born Dean." I felt the tears running down my cheeks and he pulled me in to him.

"It's ok, it's ok." He said to me, holding me tight. "It's not surprising Beth. I mean, you've lost more than most of us, and even though it wasn't his fault, he did take the baby from us." I sobbed into his chest, letting everything come out, and he just held me, running his hand up and down my back.

"But it's Sam," I said, when the sobs had subsided. "I love him, he's my little brother. I love him as much as you do. That's what brought me out of it. I couldn't stay in a world without him in it. I made a promise, just like you, to watch out for him. And I knew... I knew if I stayed, I was going to die and I wouldn't fulfill that promise. I would have failed Dad."

I sank deeper against Dean, wishing I could just crawl into his skin, I wanted to get so much closer.

"You called me back Dean. I heard you. I heard you through the mirror, the illusion. You called me back and I didn't even question, I just jumped." I said quietly. "I'd do anything for you guys."

He kissed me softly, nodding. "I know," he said gently, kissing me a little firmer, hands sliding down to hold me securely around the waist.

"It's ok Beth, we're all here now, and we're safe." He said.

"Yeah, but for how long?" I asked with a sigh. "Maybe we should just run off to Rio, we could start a... I don't know... a go-cart business for the tourists!"

He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "I know it's not ideal right now, but I promise you, we'll figure out how to make life better. We can get out, if you want to."

I sighed and looked at him. I knew in my heart that he thought he believed what he was saying, but I couldn't see how it would happen. Besides, what would we really do without hunting? Look at all the people we helped!

"I don't care so long as I have you," I said to him.

"Gee that's schmucky," he said with a laugh and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mhmmm," I said with a nod. "But that's all I got."

He smiled and pulled me in against him, guiding my head back into the crook at his neck where I buried it, taking a deep breath in. "It's all I need," he said softly.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Left Outside Alone _by Anastacia (love it!)

* * *

Man I just loved telling this story, I hope you enjoyed it, I couldn't stop writing it as soon as I started. It's like 47 pages long in Word! Hope it wasn't too hard to follow, it was a little hard to portray two realities occurring simultaneously.

* * *

And wow... we're in the endgame – two more episodes to the end of Season 2 – how did that happen? I'm already feeling sad about writing the next episode, it might be a few days before I get to it, and I might have to do a happy short-story in the meantime. But it won't be too long.

* * *

Big thanks as always to EarthhAngel for her ongoing support and friendship – she's going to have her own big chapter out shortly, I'm so excited! Be sure to check it out over at _How To Save A Life._

* * *

Shout out to some of my readers who have been sending me some great ideas for storyline and/or short stories, you guys are the best: Special mention to WinchesterGirl1967, theshadowlight, hell-girlfan1, and kat89 (guest) for the ideas (I hope I haven't forgotten anyone)! I'm jotting them all down, I have a huge list of short-story ideas just waiting to be tackled, I almost can't decide which to do first! :D

* * *

Also a shout out to AwesomerForever for all her great song suggestions!

* * *

Seriously, everyone who leaves a review/PM is just AWESOME and I love you all :D Thanks for sharing and enjoying the episodes!


	24. All Hell Breaks Loose Part1

_Please come now I think I'm falling__  
__I'm holding on to all I think is safe__  
__It seems I found the road to nowhere__  
__And I'm trying to escape__  
__I yelled back when I heard thunder__  
__But I'm down to one last breath__  
__And with it let me say__  
__Let me say__Hold me now__  
__I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking__  
__maybe six feet__  
__Ain't so far down__I'm looking down now that it's over__  
__Reflecting on all of my mistakes__  
__I thought I found the road to somewhere__  
__Somewhere in His grace__  
__I cried out heaven save me__  
__But I'm down to one last breath_

* * *

**ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE – PART ONE**

* * *

_**Diner, Unknown Location**_

**Beth's POV**

I pulled the motorcycle to a skidding halt in front of the diner, grimacing at the wet ground. It had been raining, not the best time to be out on a bike, but then, you didn't always get a choice about that. I glanced back at the Impala coming to a stop behind me and thought about how nice and warm it would be inside the back seat right now, with the added bonus that Dean could drive and I could sleep. I made up my mind, next storage unit we came across, I was ditching the bike again. The Impala had made me soft.

Until then, I had other things on my mind. I dismounted the bike giggling like a teenaged school girl. Dean had exited the Impala and looked over at me with a raised eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" He asked, and I grinned at him, pulling my latest purchase from my jacket pocket.

I sidled up to him and gave a cheeky grin. He leaned in to kiss me and I held up my hand.

"Wait... wait!" I said and he looked back at me, almost in shock.

I uncapped the lip gloss I'd purchased at the last fuel stop and ran it over my lips, pursing them together and then smiling at Dean.

"OK. Kiss me." I said to him, biting my bottom lip a little.

"Well you don't have to ask me twice," Dean said with a grin, leaning in to brush his lips against mine, running his tongue over the small welt where I'd been chewing my bottom lip.

He pulled back with a surprised look. "Mmmm," he said, then he leaned in and kissed me again. "What is that?" He murmured.

I threw him another cheeky grin. "It's called... Dutch Apple Pie," I informed him and he chuckled, leaning in to kiss me again.

"Mmm... put some more on." He said, practically eating me up as he lifted me up on to the hood of the car so we were level with each other and I could wrap my legs around his waist.

Sam got out and sighed at us, clearing his throat. "Do you guys ever stop?!" He said, rolling his eyes.

He started to go into the diner and Dean stopped kissing me long enough to hold out a hand in his direction.

"Mmm, mmm wait! Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean said to Sam.

"Dude, I'm the one who has to kiss your extra onions!" I said with a short laugh. Dean grinned and claimed my lips again, silencing that thought. Sam shook his head and I pulled away this time.

"Sam! See if they've got any pie!" I said to him and he glared back at us, walking toward the entrance to the diner. Dean was uncapping the lipgloss and applying another layer to my lips. "Bring me some pie. I love me some pie," he said before licking along my upper lip with his tongue, moaning.

The radio was still playing on the Impala, Dean had left the car running, and as Sam entered the diner there was a strange static that washed out the music. Dean frowned, pulling away from me, and leaning in the open window to fiddle with the tuner, the radio turned completely off by its own accord.

I frowned and saw Dean look up toward the diner, his eyes widening. I spun around and realised the same thing he had. The diner was suddenly completely empty. No waiter. No other diners. More frighteningly, no Sam.

I was off the hood in an instant, pulling a handgun out of one of the saddle bags on my bike. Dean was ahead of me, having pulled his gun from his waistband. He led the way into the diner, gun drawn and ready. As we entered the diner, one customer was face down in a puddle of blood at the booth nearest us.

"Sam?" I called out, my grip tightening on the gun.

Dean skipped ahead of me, opening the back door and looking around while I checked behind the counter. There were two employees on the floor, dead; their throats had been slit.

"Sam?!" Dean called out the back door. He waited a moment in case there was a response, and then he came back inside. I watched as he touched something on the door that drew his attention.

"What is it?" I asked, he looked up at me shocked.

"Sulphur," he said to me, holding a finger up covered in a white substance.

I swallowed hard and headed back out to the Impala. "Sam! Sammy!" I yelled louder this time, now feeling a lot more panicked. "Sammy!" Dean had followed me and was yelling for Sam too, there was no response.

"What the hell just happened here?" I asked Dean, he looked at me, a worried expression on his face. Sam had just vanished, and we were none the wiser as to how or why.

* * *

_**Unknown Location**_

**Sam's POV**

I didn't know how I got here: one minute I was in the diner ordering pie for Beth, and the next I was lying on the cold hard ground, surrounded by what seemed to be abandoned buildings. I gingerly tested my limbs and nothing seemed broken or otherwise impaired so I climbed to my feet. Reaching for my phone, I pulled it out and held it up. No reception. _Great. Where the Hell was I?_

I could have been standing in the middle of some old western movie set, the town looked like it had seen better days, it was now abandoned, the weatherboard houses all derelict and run down. There wasn't a modern convenience in sight. _How long had this town been left to rot?_

I wandered around the streets, going into a few buildings that weren't locked or boarded up. I heard a noise, and grabbed a nearby piece of timber, the best weapon I could find, inching my way along one of the front porches of a shop. I prepared to swing the plank when Andy Gallagher walked around the corner. He saw me and flinched, falling back against the building opposite me. I jumped back, startled to see him.

"Andy?" I said. He looked surprised and relieved at the same time.

"Sam! What are you doing here?" He asked in a high pitched voice, rushing over to me.

"I don't know," I replied, lowering the plank of wood.

"What am I doing here?!" He asked, gesturing to himself.

"I don't know," I said, getting a bad feeling in my stomach.

"Where are we?!" Andy said even more urgently, he was clearly starting to panic.

"Andy, look, calm down," I said to him. I tossed the wood to the ground, wiping the dirt from my hands on to my pants.

"I can't calm down!" Andy said, waving his hands around in the air. "I just woke up in freaking Frontierland!" He covered his eyes with his hands, breathing erratically.

"What's the last thing you remember?" I asked him. Andy continued to hold his head as if he had a migraine coming on.

"Honestly? My fourth bong load," he said he said shaking his head. "It was weird, all of a sudden there was this really intense smell. Like, uh..." he struggled to find the word.

"Like sulphur?" I asked him.

"How did you know that?" Andy asked.

I thought about it. "Dean.." I said.

"Your brother – is he here?!" Andy asked urgently.

"Uh, I don't know where his is, Beth either. I don't know if they're..."

There was a scream and I spun around to look in its direction. I started to run in its direction, approaching yet another deserted building. There was a woman screaming and banging on the inside of the building. The door was padlocked.

"Hello?" I called out.

"Help me! Help me, please!" She called out when she heard me, still banging on the door.

"Okay, I'm here. We're gonna get you out, all right? Just hold on a second!" I said, looking around for something to smash the padlock with.

"Please!" The woman called out again. I spotted a large rock nearby and grabbed it, taking aim at the padlock and smashing it. It broke and I was able to undo it. I pulled open the door and saw big blue eyes staring out at me.

"Ava?!" I said, gasping when I recognised her.

"Oh my God! Sam!" She threw herself into my arms, giving me a giant hug, starting to sob.

"So... I guess you guys know each other," Andy said from behind us. Ava pulled away from me, ignoring Andy.

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

"How did you – I mean, how did you - " Ava was stuttering, unable to get her question out.

"Ava, have you been here this whole time?" I asked her. She'd been gone so long I'd given up trying to find her. I'd looked everywhere it seemed, she had just vanished without a trace.

"What whole time? I just woke up in there, like, half an hour ago," Ava said still sobbing.

"Well, you've been gone for _five months. _We've been looking for you everywhere." I said to her.

"Okay, that's impossible," Ava said, starting to calm down and pull herself together. "Because I saw you two days ago," she finished.

"You didn't. I'm sorry," I said to her, watching as the realisation of what I was saying started to sink in.

"But...that makes no sense. That's not – oh my God! My fiancee, Brady! If I've been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!" Ava said, starting to pace.

"Well..." I said, not sure how to break the news to her. Ava noticed Andy for the first time and turned to look at him, confused.

"Hey. Andy. Also freaking out," said Andy, introducing himself with a half-smile.

"Okay." Ava said, looking back at me. "What's happening?"

"I don't really know yet. But I know one thing: I know what the three of us have in common," I said, and I really, _really _didn't like what that might mean.

A man's voice called out in the distance, echoing through the street.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

"Maybe more than three," I said, starting to jog toward the voice. A dark skinned guy rounded the corner of a building with a girl in tow. He was dressed in battle fatigues, and looked like he'd just walked off a military detail. The girl was dressed in a black coat, dark eye makeup on, and straight light brown hair.

"Hello? Hey! Hey, you guys all right?" I asked them, coming to a stop.

"I think so," said the guy, nodding, he was looking around, taking in our surroundings_. Definitely military._

"I'm Sam," I said, introducing myself.

"I'm Jake," he said back to me.

"Lily," said the girl

"Are there anymore of you?" I asked.

"No," Jake answered me.

"How did we even get here?" Lily asked. "A minute ago, I was in San Diego."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan," Jake said, looking at us all.

"Let me take a wild guess: you two are both twenty-three?" They looked at me a little startled. "We all are," I said. "And we all have... abilities."

"What?" Jake asked, looking at me with a frown.

"It started a little over a year ago? You found you could do things? Things you didn't think were possible?" They both nodded at me. I gestured to myself. "I have visions. I see things before they happen."

"Yeah. Me, too," Ava said, nodding.

"Yeah, and I can put thoughts into people's heads. Like, make them do stuff. But don't worry, I don't think it works on you guys." Andy said. "Oh, but get this – I've been practicing. Training my brain, like meditation. So now, it's not just thoughts I can beam out, but images, too. Like, anything I want. Bam! People see it. This one guy I know – total dick, right? I used it on him: gay porn. All hours of the day." He laughed, almost stopping his rambling, but not quite. "It was just like... you should have seen the look on his face."

Everyone looked at Andy slightly horrified by what he'd said. He took a step back.

"Uh... okay." He said, falling silent and coming to stand by me and Ava.

"So, you go, 'Simon says give me your wallet', and they do?" Lily said to Andy with a smirk. She looked at me. "You have visions? That's great! I'd _kill _for something like that."

"Lily, listen, it's okay," I said to her, she flashed angry eyes in my direction.

"No. It's not. I touch people? Their hearts stop. I can barely leave my house. My life's not exactly improved. So, screw you. I just wanna go home," she said angrily.

"And what, we don't?" Jake asked indignantly.

"You know what, don't talk to me like that..." Lily said frowning.

"Hey, guys, please. Look, whether we like it or not, we're all here, and so we all have to deal with this." I said to them.

"Who brought us here?" Andy asked.

"It's less of a 'who'. It's more of a 'what'." I answered, shifting uncomfortably. This is where it would get ugly, they were about to start seeing me as a stark raving lunatic.

"What does that mean?" Ava asked.

I paused, not sure I really wanted to get into it, but they deserved to know. "It's uh...It's a demon," I said pointedly.

* * *

_**Side of the Highway  
Unknown Location**_

**Beth's POV**

Bobby had met us to start a search. We were parked by the side of the road with the Impala and his big blue truck, which was currently holding my motorcycle – I was sending it back to Bobby's for a hiatus, again. Right now we were poring over a map. I pulled my jacket tighter around me, trying to ward out the chill that had set in.

"This is it," Bobby said. "All the demonic signs and omens over the last month." There was literally nothing on the page.

"Are you joking?" Dean asked, looking it over. "There's nothing here!"

"Exactly," Bobby said with a nod.

"Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing," I asked, frowning.

"That's what I'm telling you: there's nothing. It's completely quiet." Bobby said, looking concerned.

"Well how are we supposed to look for Sam?" Dean asked. "What, do we just close our eyes and point?"

My phone started ringing and I grabbed at it, glancing at the caller ID before answering.

"Ash, what have you got for us?" I said, glancing at Dean who was watching me intently.

"_Okay, listen, it's a big negatory on Sam." _Ash said to me.

"What? Come on! Ash, you 've gotta have something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here." I said to him, biting my lip.

"_Listen, Beth, I did find something,"_ Ask said.

"What?" I asked, barely containing my frustration.

"_I can't talk over this line, Beth,"_ he said to me.

"Come on, we don't have time for this!" I said angrily.

"_Make time, okay! Because this …. hey what's up, what's going on?"_ I frowned, was he talking to me? No, I realised he was talking to someone who had walked up behind him at the Roadhouse. I continued to listen, rolling my eyes at Dean who was now frowning. Ash came back on the line, talking in a hushed tone. _"Not only does this most definitely help you find your brother, this is... it's huge. So get here. Now!" _The line went dead and I pulled the phone back from my ear, frowning.

"What?" Dean asked impatiently.

"Wouldn't say, says he can't talk over an unsecured line," I said to him.

Dean sighed, looking from me to Bobby. "I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. Come on."

* * *

_**Unknown Location**_

**Sam's POV**

Jake was looking at me incredulously, and I couldn't say that I blamed him.

"So, we're soldiers in a demon war to bring on the Apocalypse?" He asked, staring at me with deep dark eyes.

"When you put it like that..." I said, _it did sound a little crazy._

"And we've been picked?" Jake interrupted.

"Yes." I said.

"Why us?" He asked. _Maybe he was getting it. Well, out of all the people here, he was a soldier, just like I was a hunter. He knew about life and death, war and duty. _

"I'm not sure, okay? But look, I just know..."

"Sam, I'm sorry. Psychic and spoon-bending is one thing, but demons?" Ava interrupted me.

"Look," I said, "I know it sounds crazy, but..."

"It doesn't just sound it," Jake said with a snort.

"I don't really care what you think, okay?" I said, starting to get a little exasperated. "If we're all gathered here together, then that means it's starting and that we've gotta..."

"The only thing I've gotta do is stay away from whackjobs, okay?" Jake said, looking at me. "I've heard enough. I'm better off on my own." He glanced at all the others. "FYI, so are you."

"Jake, hold on, Jake!" I said, calling out as he started to walk away. He ignored me and kept on walking. I followed him, determined we should stick together. He'd gotten a head start on me because I had to convince the others to follow, but I saw him head into a building and I jogged to catch up.

There was a sound of laughter and then I heard Jake shout out. I ran into the building, Jake was cringing against a wall, a girl in front of him with claws for fingers: she was getting ready to slice him up. I saw an iron poker by an old potbelly stove and I grabbed it, swinging it at the girl. She disappeared in a cloud of black smoke. Ava, Andy and Lily came running in the door as it blew past, escaping the room.

"Just so you know," I said, pointing with the poker. "That was a demon." Jake was trying to catch his breath, he looked terrified.

I walked back outside, Jake followed me. "That thing...I'm not sure, but I think it was an Acheri. A demon that disguises itself as a little girl." I said, looking around at the others. "That still doesn't tell us where we are. Andy are you with me or what?" I asked, looking at the guy.

Andy looked at me stunned. "Give me a minute. I'm still working through, 'Demons are real,'" he said. I smirked, leave it to Andy to somehow manage to work through this all and still crack a joke about it.

We moved as a group along the road. There was a large, rusty bell hanging from a wooden structure.

"I've seen that bell before. I think I know where we are now," I said, looking up. "Cold Oak, South Dakota. A town so haunted, every single resident fled." I remembered reading about it some time when doing research on poltergeists.

"Swell," Ava said. "Good to know we're somewhere so historical."

"Why in the world would that demon, or whatever, put us here?" Lily asked.

"I'm wondering the same thing," I said quietly. I'd been wondering it for a while now.

"You know what? It doesn't matter. Clearly, the only sane thing to do here is get the hell out of dodge." Lily said.

"Wait, hold on. Lily, the only way out is through miles of woods," I said to her. The roads here had been long left to ruin.

"Beats hanging out with demons," Lily said, turning to walk away.

"Lily, look, we don't know what's going on yet. I mean, we don't even know how many of them are out there right now." I said to her, _I had to make her see sense._

"Yeah, he's right," Jake agreed with me. "We should..."

"Don't say 'we'! I'm not part of 'we'. I have nothing in common with any of you!" Lily snapped at us.

I reached a hand out to her. "Okay, look. I know..."

"You don't know anything!" Lily said, spinning to face me, she paused, looking at me with anguish in her eyes. "I accidentally touched my girlfriend," she said pointedly. The reality of what she had told us sunk in, and everyone looked stunned.

"I'm sorry," I said quietly to her.

"Whatever," Lily said quietly. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare, and it just keeps getting worse and worse."

"I've lost people too," I said to her. "I have a brother and sister out there right now, who could be dead for all I know. We're all in bad shape. But I'm telling you, the best way out of this is to stick together."

"Fine," Lily said softly, sad eyes watching me.

I led the five of us through the town, explaining to them what we needed to stay safe from the demons. "We're looking for iron, silver, salt – any kind of weapon."

"Salt is a weapon?" Jake asked as I stomped up the stairs and into a building.

"It's a brave new world," I said with a half-smile.

"Well, hopefully there's food in your world, because I'm frickin' starving," Andy said morosely.

* * *

_**Harvelle's Roadhouse  
Nebraska**_

**Beth's POV**

Bobby was riding with us in the Impala, no point in taking two cars at this point. I was in the back, staring out the window as we went. Turning around the corner up to the Roadhouse I heard Dean give an exclamation of shock.

"What the Hell?" He muttered, pulling the car to a halt. I looked up, the Roadhouse was nothing more than a smoking charred ruin. We were too late.

"Oh God..." I muttered, feeling my face go white.

We all got out of the car, walking among the debris. It was still hot underfoot, the fire couldn't have happened more than a few hours ago. There was just nothing left.

"Oh my God," Bobby said taking it all in. There were bodies littered among the debris, the Roadhouse always had a few hunters hanging out there, it was always busy, clearly things had been business as usual when the attack happened.

"You see Ellen?" Dean asked urgently.

I shook my head, still looking around. "No, nothing."

"No Ash either," Bobby said. Dean stopped and looked down around his feet. He bent down all of a sudden and pulled on something. I walked over and realised it was Ash's watch, and it was still attached to his burnt corpse.

"Oh Ash..." I breathed sadly.

"Dammit!" Dean said, dropping the arm and looking up at me. He was starting to look distressed and it wasn't just the Roadhouse. Our one clue to Sam had just literally gone up in smoke.

* * *

_**Cold Oak, South Dakota**_

**Sam's POV**

I was looking around in one of the houses, there was a surprising amount of stuff left behind when the town was abandoned. Unfortunately not a lot of it was any good to warding off demons. I started to rummage through a chest on the floor, finding a knife, at least that might be of some use.

Standing up I turned to face Ava, who had been following me around. She was rubbing her head, looking a little pained.

"Hey, you all right?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm just... I don't know, a little dizzy," she replied, blinking a few times.

I was a bit concerned, thinking about when my head hurt like that. "Are you sure it's not some kind of..."

"What?" Ava interrupted. "Some kind of freaky vision thing?" I raised my eyebrow at her and nodded.

"No," she said. "More like I'd kill for a sandwich. I haven't eaten since...well, who knows? No, don't worry, I'm fine. Except for every single thing that's happening."

Andy called out to use from another room. "Hey guys! I found something!"

We crossed into the other room where Andy was holding up two large sacks, one in each hand.

"Salt!" He exclaimed triumphantly.

"That great, Andy. Now, we all can..." I stopped looking around. "Where's Lily?" Everyone looked around for the other girl, but she wasn't nearby.

"Lily?" Ava called out.

"Lily!" I yelled, a sinking feeling coming into my stomach. There was the sound of a little girl giggling nearby. I led the way outside, the others following.

"Oh my God!" Ava cried out, looking up at the water tower. Hanging by a rope, was Lily, and she wasn't moving.

"Okay, that's officially – Sam, she's dead!" Ava started to grab at me in a panic. "She's dead! You said we were chosen for a reason. That is not chosen! That's killed!" I looked at her, my own sense of panic starting to rise in my chest. _What the Hell was going on here? _"Okay, we have to get out of here." Shesaid, starting to walk away, as if to leave.

"Stop!" I just needed to think, I couldn't let her hysteria wash over me and carry me with her.

"Yeah, I second that emotion," Andy agreed, looking sick.

"Not sure that's an option," Jake said, looking over at me. I agreed with him.

"Lily was trying to leave," I explained to her. "The demon's not gonna let us get away that easy. We've gotta gear up for the next attack." I had no idea what that was going to be, or what his game plan was, but I knew without a doubt that if we separated we would find ourselves in worse shape.

"Oh, gear up?" Ava asked sarcastically.

"Yeah," I said, nodding.

"Okay, well, I'm not a soldier. I can't do that!" Ava shouted at me, hysterical.

"Well, if you want to stay alive, you're going to have to. Let's go," I said sternly, it was time to try some of Dad's tough love.

"I'll get her down," Jake said, indicating Lily and I nodded. I ran a hand over my face, trying to think about our next move.

"You know, it's funny given how much they both annoy me most of the time. But Dean and Beth would really be a big help right now. I'd give my arm for a working phone." I said to no one in particular.

Andy looked like he was having a brainwave. "You know, you may not need one. I've never tried it long-distance before, but do you have anything of Dean's on you? Or Beth? Like, something that either of them touched?" He asked.

I thought about it and started to search my pockets. "Uh… I've got a receipt. Would that work?" I asked, pulling out the receipt from our last gas stop.

"Yeah," Andy said with a nod. He took the receipt from me and looked at the signature on there. "D. Hasselhoff?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's Dean's signature." Andy stared at me, confused. "It's hard to explain," I said to him.

"All right," Andy said with a shrug. He started to concentrate, closing his eyes, and I hoped that Dean wasn't driving or something when this hit him. _If _it hit him. I kind of wished Beth had been the one to sign the receipt; it seemed to me that she might be more receptive to getting a vision, what with her demon sense thing and all. I wondered how she was going with that, because if she turned up here, we'd need her in action, not incapacitated.

* * *

_**Roadhouse, Nebraska**_

**Beth's POV**

We looked, but there was nothing that stood out to us, nothing that Ash might have left us to indicate where Sam was. We had moved back toward the car, still looking at the ruins of the Roadhouse before us.

"This is…." Bobby started to say something but then trailed off, shaking his head in shock.

"What the hell did Ash know?" Dean asked angrily, looking at me. "We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was going to tell us. Now, how the hell are we going to find Sam?"

"We'll find him Dean," I said to him, hoping my words were a little more reassuring than how I felt.

Suddenly Dean clutched at his head, doubling over with a groan.

"Dean?" I said, startled. I rushed over to him, Bobby joining me, and I tentatively touched his shoulder. Dean groaned, his eyes shut tight. After a moment he stood up, grimacing.

"What was that?" Bobby asked, looking surprised.

"I don't know. A headache?" Dean muttered.

"You get headaches like that a lot?" Bobby asked, concerned.

"No, he doesn't," I said, frowning and touching his face, turning him to look at me as I assessed his eyes. He let me fuss over him, which told me that he was a little rattled by what had just happened.

"Must be the stress," Dean said with a chuckle and I tutted at him. "I could have sworn I saw something," he commented thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?" Bobby interceded, looking on sternly.

"What?!" Dean scoffed. "No!" He shook his head vehemently and then groaned a little, closing his eyes. Obviously whatever it was had just done a number on his head.

"I'm just saying," Bobby said gruffly.

"Come on, I'm not some psychic!" Dean scoffed. Suddenly he doubled over again, falling against the car. I grabbed at him, almost in a panic. He groaned loudly, his breath coming in short bursts.

"Dean? Dean!" I said, clutching at his shoulders. "Are you all right?" It took him a few moments before he replied.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah I think so. I saw Sam. I saw him, Beth." He clutched my arms, using me to steady himself and I looked over at Bobby.

"It was a vision," Bobby said with a frown.

"Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah," he said, leaning heavily against the side of the car. "Whew! That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels," he said with a small chuckle, looking at me. I looked sympathetically at him, still worried.

"What else did you see?" I asked.

"Uh…there was a bell," Dean said, thinking.

"What kind of bell?" Bobby asked.

"Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know," Dean said.

"Engraving?" I mused, thinking out loud. Dean nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. I shook my head; it wasn't familiar to me.

"Was it a tree?" Bobby asked suddenly. "Like, an oak tree?"

Dean nodded, looking surprised. "Yeah, exactly." Bobby looked excited, moving toward the car.

"I know where Sam is!" He said.

* * *

_**Cold Oak, South Dakota**_

**Sam's POV**

Night had fallen, and we were still on the lookout for weapons we could use against a demon attack. Jake and I were in the barn, and I was trying to break off some iron bars that were attached to one of the machines in there. Jake simply grabbed one of the bars and ripped it off with his bare hands. I stared at him, stunned.

"I'm not Superman or anything. It's no big deal," Jake said with a shrug.

"You were in Afghanistan when this started?" I asked. Jake nodded at me.

"Yeah, I started getting headaches. And then there was this accident. This guy flipped his vehicle on a bad road. He got pinned underneath. I lifted it off him like it was nothing." I nodded, encouraging him to go on. "Everybody said it was a fluke adrenaline thing."

"But then you did it again, right?" I asked. He nodded.

"Bench-pressed 800 pounds, stone-cold calm. I never told anybody, of course. It was just too crazy." He said with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Crazy's relative," I said with a laugh.

"I'm starting to get that," he said to me. I nodded. "By the way, I appreciate what you're doing here." I looked at him in surprise.

"What am I doing?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Keeping calm. Keeping them calm," he said to me quietly, throwing a glance back toward the building where Andy and Ava were. "Especially considering how freaked to Hell you really are. I've been in some deep crap before myself. I know the look."

He had me pegged. I was starting to freak out, and I'd been really working hard at keeping it together, thankfully Dad had taught us well. I sighed and looked at him.

"You want to know the truth? I've got this brother and sister, right? And they're always telling me how they're going to watch out for me, how everything's going to be okay." I paused and looked at him. "You know, kind of like I've been telling Andy and Ava."

"Yeah?" Jake said.

"I don't know if I believe it this time." I said to him, frowning. "I mean, the size of what's coming – it's bigger than anyone has ever seen. I mean, it's gonna get bad. I don't even know if they're alive now, I mean I was with them when I disappeared – they weren't more than ten yards away just outside the building…." I stopped and collected my thoughts._ Of course they were okay, they had to be, they had to be looking for me, and they'd come, just like they always did._

"I don't know if we're…" I trailed off, unable to voice that thought.

"If we're gonna make it?" Jake asked, saying it for me. I nodded. "It doesn't matter if we believe it," he continued. "Only matters that they do."

We finished up what we were doing and headed back to the building we were preparing to bunker down in for the night.

I was with Ava, lining the doors and windows with salt.

"My horoscope said I shouldn't have gotten out of bed," Ava said to me. "How you doing? Holding up?" She asked me.

"I'm okay. What about you?" I asked her.

"Not so okay," she admitted. "Why us Sam? What did we do to deserve this?"

"Just lucky, I guess," I said with a shrug.

"If it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all. I just can't wait for this all to be over so I can just pretend it never happened. I just wanna curl up with Brady and watch bad TV." I shifted uncomfortably at the mention of her fiancée's name, she'd gotten distracted before when she mentioned him, but she didn't miss the look this time.

"What is it? Sam…do you know something that I don't?" Ava asked me, looking concerned all of a sudden.

"Look, Ava…I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell you this." I said gently, wondering how I was going to break the news to her.

"Tell me what?" Ava asked.

"When the demon broke into your house to take you…your fiancée didn't make it. I'm sorry." I said, and watched as that truth sunk in. She panicked, her eyes brimming over with tears as the reality of what I had said hit home like a ton of bricks.

"No, that's …. No!" She broke down and I pulled her into my arms, holding her while she sobbed. I knew how she felt; it wasn't the first time we'd all lost someone in this demon war, or whatever it was. It probably wouldn't be the last either.

A few hours later and I was struggling to stay awake, I was loathe to fall asleep, but I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually closed my eyes and gotten some rest and it was starting to catch up with me.

Suddenly the Yellow-Eyed Demon appeared in the room and I reared back.

"Jake! Behind you!" I yelled at the sleeping soldier, but he didn't hear me.

"Howdy Sam," said the demon to me, and I suddenly realised what was happening.

"I'm dreaming," I said to him.

"What do you say you and I take a little walk?" He asked me, and I tentatively followed him outside.

"You're awfully quiet, Sam. You're not mad at me, are you?" He said to me and I fought to maintain my composure.

"I'm gonna tear you to shreds, I swear to…" My tirade was cut off by a short chuckle from the demon.

"When you take up, Tiger, you give it your best shot." He said, unfazed by my comments.

"Where is my brother and sister?" I asked with a glare.

"Quite worrying about Dean and Beth. I'd worry more about yourself," he said with a smile.

"Why? You going to kill me?" I asked, almost wishing he would just get it over with sometimes.

"I'm trying to help you," the demon said to me. "That's why we're talking. You're the one I'm rooting for."

I stared at him, confused. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"Welcome to the Miss America pageant," he said to me. "Why do you think you're here? This is a competition! Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive."

I frowned, not understanding what he was getting at. "I thought we were supposed to be…"

"Soldiers in a coming war?" The demon interrupted. "That's true, you are. But here's the thing: I don't need _soldiers. _I need a _soldier. _I just need the one."

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, I couldn't just come out and say that, could I, Sam? I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. But what I need is a leader." He said. I felt sick to my stomach.

"To lead who?" I asked warily.

"Oh, I've already got my army. Or I will soon, anyway." He said with a smirk.

"You son of a bitch," I said, borrowing Dean's favourite saying.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you hadn't guessed. I mean, why do you think so many children flamed out already? Max Miller and Andy's brother, what's-his-name – they weren't strong enough. I'm looking for the best and brightest of your generation." He said. Something about how he said that made me suspicious.

"My generation?" I asked.

"Well, there's other generations, but let's just worry about yours," he said. "That's why I'm here, Sam. I want to give you the inside track. You're tough. You're smart. You're well-trained, thanks to your daddy." I glared at him when he mentioned Dad. I hadn't forgotten who currently held on to his soul. "Sam – Sammy – you're my favourite."

I wanted to just throttle the life out of him. "You ruined my life. You killed _everyone _I love!"

"The cost of doing business, I'm afraid. I mean, sweet little Jessica – she just had to die. You were all set to marry that little blonde thing, become a tax lawyer with two kids, a beer gut, and a little McMansion in the suburbs. I needed you sharp on the road, honing your skills. Your gifts. Reunited with that pair of crazy hunters you call a brother and sister."

"What about my mom?" I asked.

"That was bad luck," he said shrugging at me.

"_Bad luck?!" _I said incredulously.

"It wasn't about her. It was about you. It's always been about you," he said to me, and I stared.

"What?" I asked.

"Well… okay. You caught me in a charitable mood. I'll show you," he said to me, snapping his fingers. Suddenly I found myself standing in my nursery; I assumed it was the night that my mom died.

"Look familiar?" The demon said to me. "It should."

I was just a baby, a six-month old lying in a crib, crying while the Yellow-Eyed Demon from the past stood over me. I started to move toward the crib, angry, and the current demon grabbed me.

"Relax, Sam, this is just a hi-def instant replay. Enjoy the show," he said.

Mom came into the room; she was wearing a long white nightgown, her hair hanging around her shoulders. She looked tired. She saw the demon at the cot and blinked.

"John?" She questioned, the demon gestured to her.

"Mom!" I said to her, panicked, but she couldn't hear me.

"Is he hungry?" Mom asked the demon, thinking it was Dad.

"Shhh," the demon said to her, waving her off.

"Okay…" She shrugged and turned to leave the room.

"Wait, Mom! Mom!" I called out to her, but she didn't stop or turn around.

The demon sighed at me. "What did I just tell you, Sam? She can't hear you. This isn't real." I glared at him, frustrated and angry at my inability to do anything to change what was going to happen.

I watched as the demon hovering over my crib sliced open his wrist with his own nail, it made a sickening sound. The blood welled in the cut and then started to drip, and he held the wound over my infant mouth.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" I asked.

"Better than mother's milk," he said with a chuckle. I looked frantically at him, the realisation hitting me like a tonne of bricks.

"Does this mean I have demon blood in me?" I asked. The demon chuckled again. "Answer me!"

Mom suddenly rushed back into the room. The demon over the cot turned to her, revealing his yellow coloured eyes. She reeled back, stunned.

"It's you!" She said, recognition in her voice.

"She knew you," I said, frowning.

Mom started to walk closer, but the demon used his powers to throw her back against the wall. I watched in horror as she was forced slowly up the wall until she was pinned to the ceiling, struggling against a force beyond her control.

"No! No!" I shouted, I couldn't help myself.

"I don't think you want to see the rest of this," the demon said and he snapped his fingers.

* * *

I found myself back in the building again, jolting out of my sleep.

"Sam, wake up! Ava's missing!" Jake said, shaking me. We went outside, looking around. "I'll take the barn and hotel. You take the houses," he said to me.

"All right. Meet back here in ten minutes, okay?" I said, being cautious. Jake nodded his agreement and walked off. I started to search through the houses. Suddenly I heard screaming from back at the building where we'd been holding up. It was Ava!

I hurried back and went inside. She was crying and pointing at the ground. I looked down and saw Andy's body, mutilated. He was dead.

"Sam! I just found him like this!" Ava said to me, tears streaming down her face.

"How'd that thing get in?" I asked frantically. "Where were you?"

"I just went to get some water from the well. I was only gone maybe, like, two minutes!" Ava said to me.

"You shouldn't have gone outside. Ava, we have to stay in here." I paced, looking around. _How had that demon gotten inside? _I turned and looked at the window sill; there was a broken line through the salt. I turned back to her, pointing at it.

"Who did that?" I asked shortly.

"I don't know, maybe Andy…" Ava started to say, but I shook my head. I didn't believe her.

"Andy wouldn't do that. Ava, that line wasn't broken when I left." I stared at her, something just wasn't adding up. The time she'd been gone, the fact that she'd been a hell of a lot more freaked out about a mere vision five months ago, than she was now about the whole demon thing. In fact, she seemed incredibly well adjusted, all considered.

"What?" Ava said to me, throwing me an incredulous look. "You don't think that I….?"

"I'll tell you what I think: five months," I said to her. "You're the only one with all that time you can't account for. And that headache you got? Right when the demon got Lily…" I stared at her, _what the hell had she been through these past few months?_

"What are you trying to say?" She asked.

"What happened to you?" I asked, looking at her sadly.

"Nothing!" Ava insisted, big round eyes looking at me.

I stared at her, not buying into the act. She stared back and then she started to smile.

"Had you going though, didn't I?" She asked all of a sudden, wiping her eyes. She shrugged and looked at me. "Yeah. I've been here a long time. And not alone, either. People just keep showing up. Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time."

I shook my head. "You killed them? All of them?"

"I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ," she said with a smirk.

"Oh my God," I said, stunned. I didn't know what to say to this revelation.

"Don't think God has much to do with this, Sam," Ava snarled.

"How could you?" I asked, still trying to get my head around how a sweet, innocent girl like Ava could have given in so quickly to the darkness, to the temptation of killing.

"I had no choice," Ava said with a shrug. "It was me or them. After a while it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it," she said.

"Fighting what?" I asked.

"Who we are, Sam. If you just quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast, it's crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain." She was smiling, giddy with power. "I can't believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?"

I stared at her, I had a fair idea. "Control demons," I said to her.

"Ah, you are quick on the draw," she smirked, putting her hands to her head. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Sam. But it's over."

The black cloud of smoke had reappeared just outside the window. It was about to enter where the salt line was broken. Just as I had made up my mind to act, Jake entered the building from behind Ava. He reached out and in an instant he had twisted her neck, breaking it. She fell to the ground, broken, and the demonic smoke disappeared.

* * *

_**Just outside Cold Oak, South Dakota**_

**Beth's POV**

We pulled up to the side of the road in the Impala. Bobby was looking out the window, contemplating. The road was blocked, overgrown from years of no use, the woods was slowly claiming back its territory from modern man.

"Looks like the rest of the way's on foot," Bobby commented, and Dean sighed, looking back at me.

"Let's go," he said, getting out of the car.

We opened the trunk and grabbed the weapons we needed, a bit of everything, because we didn't know what we were up again. Mostly we grabbed weapons against demons, although for the life of me, I couldn't feel anything around at all.

"Nothing," I said to Dean as I opened the shotgun and put in some salt shells. "I don't feel anything demonic at all," I said, my stomach was nervous, but it wasn't sick or debilitating like how it usually was around demons. I didn't even have to say my mantra.

Dean frowned but didn't say anything, just grabbing his own weapon and then slamming the trunk closed.

We headed into the woods, using our flash-lights to light the way through the brush and bracken. I cursed as a branch swung back in my face and I felt the sting of a cut opening up.

"Bloody hell," I said. "It's never easy!"

Dean chucked and kept on moving, falling quiet as we got further along.

* * *

_**Cold Oak, South Dakota**_

**Sam's POV**

"I think we can make it out of here now," I said to Jake, starting to move for the woods.

"But the Acheri demon…" Jake said hesitantly, looking doubtful.

"No, no, no. Ava was summoning it, controlling it. It shouldn't come back now that she's dead," I explained. "We've gotta go."

"Not 'we', Sam. Only one of us is getting out of here. I'm sorry," Jake said and I turned to face him, shocked.

"What?" I asked.

"I had a vision. That Yellow-Eyed Demon or whatever it was, he talked to me. He told me how it was." Jake said, his eyes glittering cold.

"No, Jake, listen. You can't listen to him," I said, reaching out a hand toward him.

"Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one. Now, if we don't play along, he'll kill us both." Jake said, he sighed. "Now, I like you, man. I do. But do the math here. What good does it do for both of us to die?" He had that crazed look of a desperate man in his eyes and I felt my mouth go dry. "Now, I can get out of here. I get close to the demon, I can kill the bastard."

"You come with me, we can kill him together," I said to him. _Did he think we had never tried it? He had no idea what he was going up against! _

"How do I know you won't turn on me?" Jake asked suspiciously.

"I won't," I said simply.

"I don't know that," he replied.

"Okay, look," I said with a sigh, pulling my knife out of my jacket. I held it up for him to see and then I placed it on the ground.

"Just come with me Jake. Don't do this. Don't play into what it wants." I had to get through to him, to make him see that if we gave in, we all lost.

Jake looked at me for a long moment, and then placed his weapon on the ground as well.

"Okay," I said, relieved. It was short lived. Without warning Jake launched himself at me, punching me. He hit hard, and I flew across the field, crashing to the ground. I was winded, gasping for breath. Jake approached me, kicking down the fence and leaning over me.

I scrambled to my feet, and punched him back. We struggled together, getting a grip on one another, no one gaining ground over the other. Finally I was thrown near the iron bar that Jake had laid down and I grabbed it, swinging and knocking him out. I hit him again, and held the bar over him. I wanted to kill him, to finish it, the anger inside of me bubbling up like lava from a volcano. But I thought about Dean and Beth and how hard they had fought for me, to not give in to the demon blood – without even knowing that was what we were fighting.

I thought about Dad and how disappointed he would be if I were to give in to the temptation. How he had told Dean and Beth to kill me if they couldn't save me. I had to save myself now; I was the only one here.

Stepping back, I let it all go.

* * *

_**Cold Oak, South Dakota**_

**Beth's POV**

The woods had given way to a road, and we were making better progress. Sam appeared before us in the middle of the road, he was standing over a body, holding an iron rod.

"Sammy…" I muttered, and I started to jog toward him, Dean right by my side.

"Sam!" Dean called out, and he turned to look at us.

"Dean!" Sam called out with a relieved smile. We were almost there, we almost had him within range.

The guy at Sam's feet suddenly sprung to life, grabbing something off the ground.

"Sam, look out!" Dean shouted, but it was too late. I watched in horror as the guy took a knife and stabbed it right into Sam's back. Sam's face contorted in surprise and shock as he fell to his knees.

"No!" I yelled, and we ran even faster to get to him. Sam fell and Dean caught him. I veered off chasing the guy, Bobby hot on my heels. We crashed through the undergrowth of the woods as he raced to get ahead of me. I pulled my handgun out of my thigh holster and dropped the shotgun, making it easier to move.

"Beth!" Bobby was calling out to me, but I kept pushing through. I'd lost sight of the guy, he'd been in army fatigues, he would easy camouflage into the trees and I knew it, but I didn't want to give up.

"Beth! Come back! He's gone!" Bobby shouted and I stopped, spinning in circles, breathing hard.

"Oh God," I muttered, straining in the dark. We were in the open and I didn't like it, although I was fairly certain that guy was long gone.

I hurried back to join Bobby and we headed back to Dean. I couldn't have been gone more than a couple of minutes.

Dean hadn't moved since I'd left and I was puzzled. "Dean?" I asked, running up to him and falling to my knees beside him and Sam. Sam wasn't moving. I put my hand on Sam's back, pulling it back when I felt something hot and wet, it was covered in blood.

"It's not that bad, it's not that bad," Dean was saying. "All right? Sammy? Hey listen to me, we're gonna patch you up ok? You're gonna be good as new. We're gonna take care of you. We're gonna take care of you. I've got you." He looked up at me, his eyes panicked.

"Dean…" I said, tears falling from my eyes as I watched them.

"That's our job right?" Dean said, "Watch out for our pain-in-the-ass little brother?" He looked at Sam. "Sam?" I bit my lip. He wasn't moving, _he wasn't moving! _

"He's not moving! Sammy?" I said, touching Sam's face. Sam looked from Dean to me and then his eyes slid shut. His body fell forward.

"No, no, no, no, no, God…" I said, looking at him. Dean grabbed Sam tightly to him, tears streaming down his face.

"Sam!" Dean yelled and it broke my heart. We'd failed. We were too late. _We were too late._

_**~ To be continued ~ **_

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _One Last Breath _by Creed

* * *

Big wave to Paddy because I just love your reviews, you make me chuckle (especially since I usually get two from you! Haha) Thanks for all your feedback, love it :D And yes, I love the smut too. Seriously, no one believes me when I'm like _the characters write the stories, not me _… I have ideas on where I think it needs to go, but half the time they end up in a completely different place (the pregnancy was a good example, I never planned that!) So that's what I mean when I say, it wrote itself. I'm just the vessel hahaha But yeah, it'll happen when it happens, if it fits and it wants to come out, not much I can do about it :D

* * *

So I gotta keep it short because I need to get ready for work. But! There is a Facebook fan page happening which I've been sort of working on. I'll probably ramble there occasionally and talk storyline etc. if anyone is interested. It'll also be a place people can put fan art and videos etc. as I've had a couple of suggestions about doing that (my own is pretty sad, but I do it anyway!) So you're welcome to come check it out – you can search for Dean & Beth Supernatural, it should bring it up, or try going to facebook, and putting the following after the .com part :D (bloody FanFic and their ridiculous not letting you put in links crap!) You can also PM me and I'll email the link to you if you prefer.

/ pages/ Dean-Beth-Supernatural-Fanfic/ 616741445012946

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That being said: If you want to do fan art around these guys, or videos, or whatever – I would so LOVE THAT! I only have one request, and that's, please, pretty please try to stick with Rose Byrne for Beth! :D

* * *

As always, a big hug and thanks to EarthhAngel for her support, proofing, and ongoing Supernatural obsession that fuels mine :D

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Please everyone, leave a review and let me know what you think! Hope you like it, won't be long and Part 2 will be up!


	25. All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2

_It doesn't hurt me.__  
__You wanna feel how it feels?__  
__You wanna know, know that it doesn't hurt me?__  
__You wanna hear about the deal I'm making?__  
__You be running up that hill__  
__You and me be running up that hill  
_

_And if I only could,__  
__Make a deal with God,__  
__And get him to swap our places,__  
__Be running up that road,__  
__Be running up that hill,__  
__Be running up that building.__  
__If I only could, oh..._

_You don't want to hurt me,__  
__But see how deep the bullet lies.__  
__Unaware that I'm tearing you asunder.__  
__There is thunder in our hearts, baby.__  
__So much hate for the ones we love?__  
__Tell me, we both matter, don't we?_

* * *

**ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE – PART 2**

* * *

_**Cold Oak  
South Dakota**_

We'd moved Sam's body to an empty cabin nearby, placing him on a worn out mattress, and that's where he'd stayed for the better part of the last few days. Dean refused to move, just staring at him, sullen and silent. I felt so sick to my stomach, my eyes were dry, I couldn't cry any more – it was almost as if the hurt was so deep we were beyond crying.

"Hey," I said, moving to stand by Dean who was sitting on a chair, watching Sam. I slipped my arm around his shoulders. He barely even looked at me, so I reached out a hand to caress his face, turning his head to face me; the anguish in his eyes was heart breaking.

"Baby maybe you should get some sleep? I'll stay with him." I said, worried at how pale he was looking. He shook his head at me, turning back to stare at Sam's lifeless body and I sighed. I saw Bobby's truck pull up through the window and I went to pull away from Dean. His arm tightened around me, the first sign I'd had in over twelve hours that maybe I was getting through to him.

A barely imperceptible shake of his head let me know to stay where I was, so I stepped back resting my hands on his shoulders, just being present. Bobby came into the cabin carrying a bucket of fried chicken.

"Guys?" He said, holding up the bucket.

"No, thanks, I'm fine." Dean said quietly.

"You should eat something," Bobby said to him and I felt Dean bristle under my hands.

"It's ok Bobby, we're fine." I said softly, sending him a warning glance. Dean took a swig of the beer that was in his hands and Bobby watched us both with a concerned look.

"Look, I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think maybe it's time... we bury Sam?" Bobby said to us. I closed my eyes, not even wanting to think about it.

"No," Dean answered for us.

"We could..." Bobby sighed, looking at us again, "maybe..."

"What? Torch his corpse?" Dean finished shortly. He looked at Bobby sternly. "Not yet."

Bobby looked in my direction, worry behind those kind eyes. "I want you to come with me," he told me. He'd already tried it on Dean, seemed he was taking a different tact now.

"She's not going anywhere," Dean said and I bit my lip. I shook my head at Bobby.

"Dean, please." Bobby said with a frown.

"Would you cut me some slack?!" Dean snapped, "I need her with me."

I squeezed his shoulders firmly, letting him know I was still here. "It's ok Bobby." I said quietly.

"Well you won't damn well move, and I got to admit – I could use the help Dean!" Bobby said. Dean snorted at him, shaking his head.

"Something big is going down – end of the world big," he said and I chewed on my lip. Right now it was the farthest thing from our minds.

"Well, then let it end!" Dean yelled and I frowned at him. That wasn't like Dean, but then again, we'd never failed so utterly and completely in our lives either.

"You don't mean that," Bobby said.

"You don't think so?!" Dean asked, standing up suddenly and coming to face the older man. I reached out a hand and grabbed his arm, trying to keep him calm. It wasn't going to do any of us any good to fight among ourselves.

"Maybe he's right Bobby," I said, wishing I could feel tears in my eyes, it would be better than the dry ache that was there now. "You don't think we've given enough? You don't think we've paid enough? Our entire family is dead!" Bobby looked pained.

"I'm done with it. All of it." Dean said shortly. "And if you know what's good for you, turn around and get the hell out of here." He was breathing quickly, almost as if he was about to have a panic attack. "Go!" He shouted at Bobby shoving him in the chest. Bobby stared back at him, his eyes glittering with tears.

"Dean!" I said sternly, pulling him back to me.

Dean turned to look a Bobby, the loss in his eyes so complete and apparent. "I'm sorry..." he said to Bobby, who nodded. "I'm sorry... please, just go." He said softer this time.

Bobby looked at me and I nodded silently, he sighed and ran a hand across his face. "Well, you know where I'll be," he said finally, turning and leaving the building. Dean turned to look at Sam's body again, a tear running down his cheek. I brushed it away and he leaned in to me, pressing his forehead to mine with a shuddering breath. I couldn't think of a thing to say.

* * *

Night fell without as much as a whisper from the world outside.

Dean was sitting next to the bed with Sam on it as I went about lighting candles to fight back the gloom. I was thankful that it wasn't the middle of winter, because we had no heating. We had no bedding, no electricity, no supplies, but I still couldn't convince Dean to move.

"You know when we were little – Sam couldn't have been more than five – he just started asking questions..." Dean said to me, staring at Sam. "How come we didn't have a mom? Why do we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go when he'd take off for days at a time?" I nodded, coming to sit on the chair next to him. He looked at me with tearful eyes.

"I remember I begged him... 'Quit asking, Sammy. Man, you don't want to know.' I just wanted him to be a kid, just for a little while longer." He sighed and looked at Sam again, talking to his brother now.

"I always tried to protect you... keep you safe... Dad didn't even have to tell me. It was just always my responsibility, you know? It's like I had one job... I had one job... and I screwed it up. I blew it." He looked back at me again and my throat ached, I knew exactly what he was saying, I'd blown it too. We'd both failed.

"I'm sorry Sammy," he said, looking back at his brother. "But I guess that's what I do. I let down the people I love. I let Dad down." He looked over at me, anguish in his eyes. "I let you down," he said to me and I frowned, _what was he talking about? _"And now I guess I'm supposed to let Sam down too. How can I? How am I supposed to live with that?"

"Dean..." I said, reaching out to him, taking his hands in mine. "Dean, we did our best." He sat back and sighed.

"I should have given you more Beth, you know, I should have been free to give you more but I've only ever had one job, protect Sammy. I... I put that before us even." I smiled sadly. He wasn't the only one.

"Dean, I understand." I said to him. "You think I don't? You're not the only one who shouldered the responsibility of protecting Sam." He looked up at me and blinked back tears.

"You shouldn't have had to do that. It wasn't fair. Dad had no right to put that on you." He said to me and I bit my lip.

"Well, he did. And I agreed, because I love you guys. You're my whole world Dean." I said sadly, kissing the hand that was in mine. He stared down at our hands, intertwined and sniffed.

"What am I supposed to do Beth?" He asked softly, his voice breaking. "What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do?" He asked over and over, leaning forward and burying his face into my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him, rocking him a little back and forth.

"I don't know," I whispered. "I don't know..."

* * *

Dean had finally fallen asleep, he was exhausted and I watched him sleeping peacefully in the room adjacent to where Sam's body was. I'd been staring at him for near on an hour, pacing between the pair of them. One alive, one dead. My brothers, my world. I lit my prayer candle in the corner of the room with Sam and pulled out my rosary. Well, Mom had said I needed to pray during the dark times too, didn't get much darker than this.

I bent my head over the candle and prayed for another miracle. But I knew there wasn't one coming. Not this time. There hadn't been with Dean either. I sighed, thinking about it all, and when I blew the candle out I knew what I had to do. It was as if it had been my job all along, the reason I had come into this family, the reason I was here.

I rummaged through the trunk of the Impala, picking out the items I would need and then headed over to my motorcycle; Bobby had brought it in his truck when I'd said I might need to go out for supplies, but I didn't want to leave Dean without a car. I pushed it down the road before jumping on and starting it up. Time to do this.

I drove to the first dirt crossroads I came across, pulling the bike over and collecting my things together. A little box with the summoning herbs, cats bones, a photo of myself. I moved to the middle of the crossroads and buried them, standing up and waiting. And I waited: Nothing. I started to wonder if perhaps I'd put the wrong things in the box, chewing on my lip. I thought it through: no I definitely had the right items. Which meant the demon was just being tardy.

"Oh come on already. Show your face!" I said to thin air.

A beautiful woman in a black dress appeared in front of me. Curly black hair falling down her back.

"Easy sugar, you'll wake the neighbours," she said to me with a smirk. "Beth. It's so good to see you." She said and rolled my eyes.

"I mean it. Look at you. Gone and got your whole family killed. Only you and Deano left in the world, and both of you beating yourselves up over failing to save the one precious thing to you in the world. It's too sweet." She smiled at me, and I crossed my arms.

"You done?" I asked.

"Excuse me, you're going to have to give me a moment. Sometimes you got to stop and smell the roses." She said to me with a flash of her red eyes.

"I should send you straight back to Hell," I said stonily as she came to stand in my space, looking over at me.

"Oh, you should. But you won't. And I know why," she said, cocking her head to the side.

"Oh yeah?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Following in Daddy's footsteps. You want to make a deal. Little Sammy back from the dead, and – let me guess – you're offering up your own soul?" She said to me.

"There are a hundred other demons who'd love to get their hands on it. And it's all yours. All you got to do is bring Sam back. And give me ten years – ten years, and then you come for me," I said.

"You must be joking," she said to me, and I frowned.

"That's the same deal you give everybody else," I said.

The demon smirked at me, coming over to whisper in my ear. "But you're not everybody else."

"No, I'm not." I said with a raised eyebrow. "Why don't you go have a little chat with Yellow-Eyes. See what he thinks about it? Or maybe I'll just take the deal to him myself."

She stepped back, assessing me. "Hm... yes, I heard he was … displeased to see you slip through his fingers. Oh there's just no underestimating that John Winchester is there?"

"So?" I asked, looking at me. She closed her eyes, as if she were speaking with someone else.

"Sorry Beth, I'm afraid ten years is a bit of a wait, not sure your soul will be of much interest by then," she said. I glared at her.

"Five years then, take it or leave it." I said, crossing my arms.

She looked at me with a smug look. "I think I'll leave it," she said. I tilted my head and smirked at her, I could call that bluff. Spinning on my heel, I started walking back to the bike, not saying another word.

I was about to slip the helmet over my head when she called out to me.

"OK!" She said. I smiled to myself, turning back to her. "Five years, and Sam's life," she confirmed with me. I hesitated for a moment, but there was nothing more to it. My family was dead, I should be too, and this was my purpose. This was why John needed me with them, to do this, to keep Sam safe, to keep Dean safe.

"Done," I said, walking back to face her. She smiled and I felt her soft hands touch my face. I forced back a shudder as her lips brushed across mine, she leaned in to the kiss, parting my lips with her tongue and I heard a car screech to a stop behind us.

"Beth!" Dean was shouting at me and I pulled back from the kiss, the demon looked on smugly at me, turning to Dean.

"You're too late, lover boy," she said with a smile.

"What have you done?!" Dean asked urgently, grabbing me by the arms and shaking me.

"She's just brought your darling brother back from the dead," the demon answered for me. Dean looked at me with anguished eyes.

"What have you done?" He asked again quietly.

"I had to Dean, it's why I'm here; it's what I was put here to do. Sam isn't meant to be dead, neither are you. I should have sold my soul to save you, and Dad would still be here – you'd have him, Sam would be here, you'd be a family again." I said to him, tears coming back after my eyes having been dry for so long.

"What are you talking about? I'm not going to lose you because of Sam, because of Dad!" Dean said and the demon laughed.

"Don't worry, you get five years until you have to kiss her good bye," she said. Dean looked at me in shock.

"Five... Five years?!" He said loudly. "Are you insane?!"

I shook my head. "I had to, I had to Dean. I promised to protect Sam."

"And I promised to protect you!" He said, groaning. He pulled me to him, squeezing me tight. "Oh Beth, what have you done?" He looked over my shoulder at the demon.

"Take me instead," he said and I pulled back.

"What? No, no!" I said shaking my head.

"Yes, I'm not letting you do this. You take me instead," he said to the demon who laughed delightedly.

"Why on earth would I want to do that?" She asked, smirking.

"You know how valuable my soul is, you know it's worth every bit as much as hers." He said to the demon, and she raised her eyebrow. "I'm not letting you take her."

"A righteous man..." she said with amusement. "Well, well... maybe you do have something to trade." She looked at him. "But it's not going to come cheap."

"What do I have to do?" He asked, looking at her.

"First of all, quit grovelling. Needy guys are such a turnoff," she said with a sigh. She turned a conspiratorial eye to Dean.

"Look... look I shouldn't be doing this. I could get in a lot of trouble. But what can I say? Nothing like a white knight in shining armour to tug at the old heart strings... I've got a blind spot for you two. Always fighting to see who can sacrifice the most for dear little Sammy. You're just too much fun to play with." She looked at us with a smile. "I'll do it."

"You'll bring him back? And you'll release Beth from her deal?" Dean asked. She nodded.

"I will. And because I'm such a saint, I'll give you one year. And one year only," I gaped at her.

"What?! No!" I said, pushing Dean away from her. "No Dean, you can't." He looked at me with a pained expression, reaching out for my face.

"I'm not letting you go to Hell when I can do something about it Beth. You're a minister's daughter, you're a believer... and I love you, I won't see it happen, not on my watch." I felt the tears welling in my eyes again, shaking my head furiously at him.

"No... no, no, no. I can't lose you Dean. I'd rather be dead." He sighed at me, pulling me into a hug.

"You think I feel any different?" He said.

The demon yawned at us, picking at her nails. "Booooring!" She said, and we turned back to her.

"Do it," Dean said, and she raised an eyebrow.

"If you try and welch or weasel your way out, then the deal is off. Sam drops dead, he's back to rotten meat in no time; and Beth's soul is mine. Do I make myself clear?" She said. Dean nodded.

"Forget it!" I said, pushing Dean away from her. "Don't you dare Dean, don't you dare!"

"It's a better deal than your Dad ever got, what do you say Dean?" The demon asked, watching me struggle with him.

Dean looked at me, a pained expression in his eyes. He sighed and shoved me to the side, taking a few quick steps to grab the demon, kissing her to seal the deal.

"Dean!" I yelled at him, but it was done. Just like that, our entire lives changed.

* * *

The ride back to the cabin was short but excruciating. I'd dumped my bike, I couldn't even bare to look at it. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'd already started counting down the days and I wasn't going to spend a minute away from Dean.

He was deathly silent as we got out of the Impala, I tripped over a tree root as I rounded the side of the car and I stayed there, pulling back to huddle beside the tree, staring up at the branches overhead, silhouetted against a grey sky.

Silent tears fell down my face and I struggled to breathe through the desperation I was feeling. It had been easy when it had been my soul on the line, now it wasn't everything just came crashing down.

Dean stopped and looked back at me, sighing and returning to kneel next to me.

"She'd given me five years Dean… five years! That's a lifetime for us, what are the chances we'd even live that long? But one year? It's not enough time Dean. I can't … I just can't." He pulled me into his arms and I sobbed heavily into his shoulder, drenching his shirt with tears. We stayed like this for what seemed like hours, but in reality were only minutes.

He still didn't say anything to me, but he was soft and gentle, showing me that he simply didn't know what to say, or how to put into words what he was feeling. When the tears subsided I let out a big sigh, brushing my eyes with my hands.

"Come on," Dean said, brushing at my eyes with his thumbs. "It'll be all right." Just the sound of his voice nearly started a whole new wave of tears, but I pushed them back. We had to get inside to Sam. Biting hard on my lip, I nodded and he stood up, pulling me to my feet and into his arms. I leaned into the embrace, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist, my head against his chest, mind racing: wondering if there was a way we could get out of this deal.

After a moment he pulled away, taking my hand, and led us inside. Sam was up and around when we walked in. He was standing in front of a mirror, looking at his back and Dean froze, staring; I bumped into him before scooting around.

"Sammy," Dean said softly.

Sam mustered up a pained smile. "Hey," he said.

We both crossed to him simultaneously, Dean pulling us both into a big group hug, holding tight.

"Ow," Sam said with a grimace. "Uh, Dean..."

Dean stepped back, releasing us. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, man. I'm just... I'm just happy to see you up and around, that's all. Come on, sit down." He said, leading us all over to the bed Sam had been on earlier. I sat on the bed with Sam, taking his hand and smiling while Dean pulled up a chair.

"Okay," Sam said with a curious look. "What happened to me?"

Dean and I exchanged a look and then I turned to him. "Well, what do you remember?" I asked.

"I saw you, and Dean and Bobby, and … I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like... like, white-hot, you know, and then you both started running at me, and... that's about it." He said, frowning.

Dean nodded. "Yeah, that – that kid, stabbed you in the back. You lost a lot of blood. It was pretty touch and go for a while."

"But Dean, you can't patch up a wound that bad," Sam said, confused.

"No, Bobby could." Dean said dismissively. "Who was that kid, anyway?"

"His name's Jake. Did you get him?" Sam asked.

"No, he disappeared into the woods, I lost him," I said, shaking my head.

"We got to find him, guys. And I swear I'm gonna tear that son of a bitch apart," Sam said, standing up. We both stood with him and Dean placed a hand on his chest.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, easy there Van Damme. You just woke up, all right? Let's get you something to eat. Huh? You want something to eat?" Dean said, and Sam nodded. "I'm starving," Dean said, looking at me. "Come on."

We dug around in the things that Bobby had left us, left over pizza from earlier in the day, the chicken, there was whiskey and coke, bottles of water. Sam was telling us about what had happened the entire time he'd been apart from us.

"And that's when you guys showed up," he said, taking a big swallow of water, looking at us.

"That's awful," I said, horrified by the story. "Poor Andy!"

Sam nodded. "The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive."

"He told you that?" Dean said with a frown.

"Yep," Sam scoffed. "He appeared in a dream."

"Did he tell you anything else?" I asked, leaning back against the kitchen bench.

Sam shook his head, a little too quick if you asked me, and he looked over at Dean. "No," he said. "No, that was it. Nothing else. You know, what I don't get, is if the demon only wanted one of us, then how did Jake and I both get away?"

Dean swallowed, looking over at me. "Well, I mean, they left you for dead. I'm sure they thought it was over," Dean said, taking a large bite of pizza, and chewing as he paced the floor.

"So now that Yellow-Eyes has Jake, what's he going to do with him?" I asked, chewing on a nail.

"I don't know," Sam said, looking over at me. "But whatever it is, we gotta stop him."

Dean turned tired eyes to Sam, I noted how pale he looked, he had barely slept the last three days, his eyes were dark ringed, and he was starting to worry me.

"Well, hold on." Dean said to Sam. "You need to get your rest. We got time."

"No, we don't," Sam said quietly, looking from Dean to me.

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first," Dean insisted. Sam sighed.

"Well did you call the Roadhouse? Do they know anything?" He asked.

Dean looked over at me, sighing a little, his eyes sad. "Yeah," he muttered, sitting down. Sam noticed the look between us.

"What is it?" He asked.

I walked over and sat next to Dean, really not wanting to have to say it. "The Roadhouse burned to the ground Sam. Ash is dead. Probably Ellen... and a lot of other hunters too." I said. Sam looked stunned.

"Demons?" He asked.

"Yeah, we think so," Dean said with a nod. "We think because Ash found something."

"What did he find?" Sam asked.

"Bobby's working on that right now," I said quietly.

"Well, come on then," Sam said, starting to stand. "Bobby's only a few hours away."

Dean stood up at the same time, grabbing Sam by the shoulders. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop, Sam, stop. Damn it. You almost died there. I mean, what would we have..." Dean paused, looking harder at his brother. "You just take care of yourself for a little bit huh? Just for a little bit?"

Sam shook his head. "I'm sorry Dean, no," he said softly.

Dean looked down at me and shook his head. I sighed. Where on earth did we all get our stubbornness from?

* * *

_**Bobby's House  
**__**Sioux Falls, South Dakota**__**  
**_

**Dean's POV**

It would take a couple of hours to get to Bobby's. Painstaking hours to think long and hard about what had happened at those crossroads. I couldn't believe Beth had been so stupid to sell her own soul, and then to take a five-year deal on top of it. I shook my head just thinking about it, glancing in the mirror at where she was sitting in the back seat.

She was staring out the window, a haunted look in her eyes and I sighed again. _What the hell were we going to do to get out of this one?_ I wasn't even sure we could. But there was no way I had been going to allow her to go to Hell over Sammy. That was my job, and it was simple, protect Sam, protect Beth. Be damned if I was going to see her die over him, some demon's chew toy for all eternity. I would have died on the spot if it had meant getting her out of that deal. Looking at her now, I started to wonder if maybe that might have been the kinder way out. Now she had to live a year with this knowledge, I knew she'd never forgive herself.

I turned my eyes back to the road and kept driving, trying to push all these thoughts out of my head.

When we reached Bobby's both Sam and Beth were asleep. I pulled up near the old house and went to wake Beth first. I opened the back door carefully so she wouldn't fall out, holding her in place before reaching in to brush my hand along her cheek. She stirred at my touch and then opened her deep brown eyes to look at me.

"Hey," I said softly to her, and felt my heart stir when she smiled at me. I had a feeling those smiles were going to be far and few between from now on, making a note that I'd have to make an effort to get them out of her. She reached out and grabbed my face between her hands, pulling me forward as her lips met mine in an almost desperate kiss. When she broke away, she ran her hands over my shoulders and buried her face in my neck, the soft breath from her mouth tickling my skin.

I took and deep breath, then started to stand up, pulling her out of the car with me. I reached through the window to tap Sam on the shoulder and he startled awake, looking frantically up at us.

"We're here," I said, nodding at the house.

I wasn't expecting Cole to answer the door when we knocked.

"Hey shortass," I said, making light of the fact that she was a good foot or more shorter than me. Never failed to astonish me how short she was, even Beth was taller than her.

She raised an eyebrow and opened her mouth to retort, but her eyes flicked to Sam and the smirk fell off her face.

"Hey Cole," Beth said from beside me, pushing into the hallway.

"Hey Cole," Sam said with a smile.

Cole continued to stare at Sam. "Sam. It's good to see you... up and around," she said, turning a hard stare to me.

"Yeah, well..." Sam shrugged, looking at Bobby as he came up behind Cole, a stunned expression on his face. "Thanks for patching me up," Sam said to him.

"Don't mention it," Bobby said gruffly, frowning at me.

Beth was pulling on Cole's arm, looking at her kind of urgently. "Cole, I need to talk... now!" She said and I frowned as the pair of them wandered through the living room, headed for the bedrooms upstairs.

"Well, Sam's better," I said, looking at Bobby, aware that we were all still standing on the porch. "And we're back in it now, so... what do you know?"

Bobby led us into the living room. "Well, I found something. But I'm not sure what the hell it means," Bobby said, looking at us both.

"Demonic omens... like a frickin' tidal wave. Cattle deaths. Lightening storms. They skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." He pointed to a map before him on a desk, circling an area with his hand. "All around here, except for one place... Southern Wyoming."

"Wyoming?" I asked with a shrug.

"Yeah. That one area's totally clean – spotless. It's almost as if..." he trailed off.

"What?" Sam asked. Bobby looked from him to me.

"The demons are surrounding it," he said with a grim look.

"But you don't know why?" I asked.

"No, and by this point my eyes are swimming," Bobby said, shaking his head. He took a step back and looked over at Sam. "Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, sure."

"Come on Dean," Bobby said pointedly to me. "I got more books in the truck, help me lug 'em in."

"Yeah," I said, almost sighing. I knew what was coming.

He waited until we'd reached the junkyard before turning on me.

"You stupid ass!" He yelled at me. "What did you do? What did you do?!" He pushed me and I took a few steps back. "You made a deal... for Sam, didn't you?" The look in my eyes confirmed what he already suspected. "How long did they give you?" He said quietly.

"Bobby..." I said, not wanting to answer.

"How long?!" He roared at me.

"One year," I answered, looking at him.

"Damn it, Dean!" Bobby said.

"Which is why we gotta find this Yellow-Eyed son of a bitch. That's why I'm gonna kill him myself. I got nothing to lose now, right?" I asked.

Bobby grabbed me by the collar, eyes flashing with anger. "I could throttle you!" He shook me and I heard Beth cry out behind us.

"Bobby!" She called, I turned to see her running toward us, she reached us, putting a hand on Bobby's chest to separate us.

"Stop! It's not his fault... it's not his fault. I made the deal," Beth said to him, tears in her eyes.

"What?!" Bobby exclaimed, looking at her.

"I made the deal," Beth said quieter this time. Bobby let go of my shirt, stepping back.

"They gave her five years," I said, shaking my head at Beth. "But be damned if I was going to let that go down Bobby, so I made a deal and …" Bobby's eyes widened as he started to realise the implications of why I'd done it.

"What is it with you Winchesters, huh? You pair, your Dad. You're all just itching to throw yourselves down the pit." He sighed, running a hand over his face.

"That's my point. Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here. At least this way, something good could come out of it, you know? It's like my life could mean something."

"What? And it didn't before?!" Bobby said to me. "Have you got that low an opinion of yourself? Are you that screwed in the head?!" He grabbed me again, and Beth looked startled.

"I couldn't let her go to Hell, Bobby. I couldn't, it's Beth." I felt the tears coming into my eyes and I fought them. Beth had stepped back a few paces and was staring at me, horror in her eyes like she'd finally just realised what had happened at those crossroads.

"You wouldn't have done it," she said softly, looking at me. She'd finally figured it out. I wouldn't have sold my soul, I was looking for a way to bring back Sam, but that hadn't been an option for me - until she did it. I stared sadly at her.

"Oh my God!" She said with barely a whisper, the anguish apparent in her eyes. Bobby let me go again, staring at her then looking at me. He looked stunned, like he'd thought it would have been my idea to sell my soul for Sam.

"But I couldn't!" She said, shaking her head. "I couldn't let him die, I couldn't, he's my brother."

"Well how's your brother gonna feel when he knows what the pair of you did? When he finds out Dean is going to Hell because his sister sold her soul!" Beth flinched, and Bobby turned to me. "How'd you feel when you knew your dad went for you?"

"You can't tell him. You can take a shot at me. Whatever you got to do, but please don't tell him," I said.

Bobby's eyes welled up with tears and he started to cry, grabbing my chin as he battled his emotions. Suddenly there was a clank from part of the junkyard. We all immediately fell to the side, taking cover. Bobby and I against a couple of cars, Beth behind an old 44-gallon drum. Footsteps worked their way through an opening between us, and as they got nearer I grabbed them by the shoulders.

Ellen's startled eyes looked back at me. "Ellen?!" I exclaimed, looking at her, barely believing my eyes. She nodded at me. "Ellen. Oh, God," I said pulling her in for a hug.

Moments later we all gathered in the kitchen, at the same old table we'd picked out years earlier during a fun-filled afternoon. I smiled a little, reminiscing about those days, about what it had felt like to have Beth pressed on top of me after she tackled me when I'd challenged her comfort zone. I still remembered what it was like to trail my fingers along the bare skin under her top that day – a forbidden touch, one we'd both been craving.

I glanced over at her now, she was staring silently at Ellen, a troubled look on her face.

Bobby and Ellen were sitting at the table across from one another. He poured her a shot of liquid from his flask and slid it across the table to her. Ellen raised her eyebrow at him.

"Bobby, is this really necessary?" She asked with a smirk.

"Just a belt of Holy Water, shouldn't hurt," Bobby said back to her. She rolled her eyes, lifting the shot glass to her mouth and swallowing the water. She put the shot glass back on the table and slid it toward Bobby.

"Whiskey now, if you don't mind," she said, and I smirked. _Just like Ellen._

Bobby started to pour from a bottle on the table while I looked at her. "Ellen, what happened? How'd you get out?" I asked.

She took the shot glass of whiskey Bobby offered her, holding it in a shaky hand. "I wasn't supposed to. I was supposed to be in there with everyone else." She paused and scoffed. "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. It was just dumb luck." She downed the shot of whiskey and exhaled sharply as Bobby poured her another.

"Anyway, that's when Ash called. Panic in his voice." She sighed. "He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky-high. And everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes." She shook her head, looking like she was still in shock.

"Sorry, Ellen," Cole said softly.

Ellen looked up with tears in her eyes. "A lot of good people died in there. And I got to live," she scoffed. "Lucky me." I stared at the tabletop, not even wanting to go there. I was sick to death wondering how it was that I managed to live when everyone around me died.

"Ellen, you mentioned a safe?" Bobby said.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement," Ellen said with a nod.

"Did the demons get what was in it?" Beth asked, coming to sit at the table.

"No," Ellen said, pulling something out from her jacket pocket. She unfolded a map and set it down on the table. There were several black lines and X's marked on it.

"Wyoming," I said, pointing to the state again. _What was it about this place? _I pointed to the lines. "What does that mean?"

* * *

_**Bobby's House**_

**Beth's POV**

We'd been researching Wyoming for maybe an hour when Bobby came into the kitchen from the library, bearing a book.

"I don't believe it," he said, putting the book down in front of Dean on the dining table.

"What? You got something?" Sam asked, coming around to look over his shoulder.

"A lot more than that," Bobby said. "Each of these X's," he said, pointing to the map. "Is an abandoned frontier church – all mid 19th century. And all of them build by Samuel Colt."

"Samuel Colt – the demon-killing, gun making Samuel Colt?" I asked with a frown.

"Yep," Bobby said. "And there's more. He built private railway lines connecting church to church." He traced the black lines with his finger as he spoke. "It just happens to lay out like this." He picked up a pen and connected the X's in a pattern that was a giant five-pointed star.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is..." Dean said, looking up at me.

I was stunned, staring at it. I nodded. "It's a Devil's Trap. A 100-square mile Devil's Trap."

Cole smirked. "That's freaking brilliant! Iron lines demons can't cross."

"I've never heard of anything that massive," Ellen said, staring at the map.

"No one has," Bobby said.

"And after all these years none of the lines are broken? I mean, it still works?" Dean asked.

"Definitely," Sam said.

"How do you know?" Dean asked, frowning at him.

"All those omens Bobby found. I mean the demons, they must be circling it and they can't get in." Sam explained and I nodded. _That's why there was a big clear zone on the map._

"Yeah, well, they're trying," Bobby said sourly.

"Why? What's inside?" Cole asked, leaning on the table.

"What's what I've been looking for. And, uh, there's nothing except an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle." Dean said, leaning back in his chair.

"Well what's so important about a cemetery or... what's Colt trying to protect?" Sam asked, looking around at us all.

"Well, unless..." Dean said, looking at me and I suddenly saw what he was seeing, I leaned forward, nodding.

"Unless what?" Bobby asked.

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out?" Dean asked.

"What if he was trying to keep something in?" I mused quietly, looking at the map.

"Well that's a comforting thought," Ellen smirked.

"Yeah, you think?" Cole said, crossing her arms and looking concerned.

"Could they do it Bobby? Could they get inside?" Sam asked, looking at the father-figure in the room.

"This thing's so powerful, you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full-blood demon gets across." Bobby said.

Sam looked up suddenly, panic in his eyes. "No. But I know who could." He looked around at us and my heart sank, that was the plan, that's what Yellow-Eyes had been after all along. Someone strong enough to get across those lines, and break them. He had a human, someone behind enemy lines...

"Jake," I said, and Sam nodded. Dean looked up and Cole stirred beside me.

"We have to go, and we have to go now," Dean said, already heading for the door. We were headed for one of my favourite parts of Wyoming, I knew the road well. Even at break-neck speed it was going to take us at least eleven hours to get there.

* * *

_**Cemetery  
Unknown Location, Wyoming**_

**Dean's POV**

Night had fallen by the time we reached the cemetery. There wasn't a soul in sight, but that didn't always mean much. We all took different positions throughout the graves, not really knowing what we were looking for, but we knew one thing: at some point, Jake would be along, following orders from the Yellow-Eyed demon.

Jake opened the gate to the small cemetery and entered, walking toward a crypt which was in the middle. I was crouched with Beth by a large tomb, we had our guns ready and waiting. As he neared the crypt, Sam stepped out of the shadows with Bobby.

"Howdy Jake," Sam said. Beth and I moved in behind him, Cole closing the circle from the other side with Ellen. We had the son of a bitch surrounded.

Jake turned, surprised to see Sam standing there. "Wait...you were dead. I killed you," Jake said to Sam. Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Well next time, finish the job." He said, taking a step closer.

"I did! I cut clean through your spinal cord, man." Jake said. Sam glanced over at me and Beth, I looked away, I could see it in his eyes: he knew there was truth to that statement. "You can't be alive. You can't be." Jake said.

"Okay, just take it real easy there, son," Bobby said, holding up his gun.

"And if I don't?" Jake asked.

"Wait and see," Sam said, swallowing hard.

"What, you a tough guy all of a sudden? What are you gonna do – kill me?" Jake smirked at Sam.

"It's a thought," Sam said, hatred in his eyes.

"You had your chance. You couldn't," Jake said.

"I won't make that mistake twice," Sam promised him.

Jake started to laugh and I looked at him, wondering what he thought was so funny.

"What are you smiling at, you little bitch?" I asked him, drawing his attention to him. Jake's eyes flicked to Beth and I had a moment to regret what I'd just said.

"Hey Sweetheart," Jake said to her. "Do me a favour. Put that gun to your head." Beth's eyes widened as she pointed her gun to her temple. I silently cursed not having gotten ourselves some ear plugs. Though from what we'd experienced with Andy's brother, he didn't need to use words if he was strong enough.

Jake laughed again. "See that Ava girl was right. Once you give in to it, there's all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn."

"Let her go," Sam said, his voice dripping with anger.

"Shoot him," Beth said, her voice trembling.

"You'll be mopping up skull before you get a shot off," Jake threatened and I looked over at Beth quickly, my finger tightening on the trigger just the same. "Everyone, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart," he said to Beth. I looked at Beth again, staring at her shaking hand, she was fighting it, but it wasn't a battle she was going to win, he was strong. We all dropped our guns, looking at each other.

"Okay, thank you," Jake said, turning to pull the Colt out of his jacket. He moved quickly and went to insert the gun into an opening on the front of the crypt. I nodded at Bobby, who was closest to Beth other than me, and as he was distracted, we grabbed at Beth, pulling her arms away from herself before she could shoot herself, a shot going wild as we took the gun from her.

Sam and Cole acted at the same time shooting Jake from different directions. He fell to the ground as I pushed Beth into Ellen's arms, spinning to turn my own gun on him. Sam had moved to stand over Jake, who was now looking up alarmed at him. I couldn't help but take in Sam's facial expression of contempt and darkness as his face contorted in a snarl at Jake.

"Please..." Jake said, gasping. "Don't... please." Sam didn't even hesitate, just pulled the trigger and shot him three more times in the chest. The engraved opening on the crypt started to spin in different directions, and I came up beside Sam, looking at him a little shocked as he wiped a few spots of blood off his face from shooting Jake at such close range.

The others were staring at the crypt door, and we all watched as the engravings came to a stop and there was the sound of a lock tumbling.

"Oh no," Bobby muttered.

"Dad what is it?" Cole asked, looking up. I reached out and pulled the Colt out from the crypt just as Bobby answered.

"It's Hell... take cover, now!" Bobby's shout got me moving, and we all ran behind tombstones as the doors to the crypt burst open. I had Beth beside me, looking frantic as a large black mass of smoke poured out of the crypt, flying forward like a freight train.

* * *

**Beth's POV**

"What the Hell just happened?!" Dean yelled out to no one in particular as debris flew all around us.

"That's a Devil's gate!" Ellen shouted back. "A damn door to Hell!"

"Come on! We gotta shut that gate!" I called to Dean and I stood up, moving toward the crypt.

Dean checked the Colt for bullets, and stood up. I thought I heard him mutter something about the demon having given the gun to Jake, but I was soon out of hearing range as I joined Sam at the crypt, trying to push closed the doors to the crypt.

Thunder crashed around us, and suddenly the Yellow-Eyed demon appeared behind Dean. He used an unseen power to pull the gun out of Dean's hand to his.

"A boy shouldn't play with Daddy's guns," the yellow-eyed bastard said to him and I watched as Dean was thrown through the air, hitting his head on a tombstone.

"Dean!" I cried out, leaving the crypt and running over to him. Sam saw me running and called out after me, following. Next thing I knew Sam was thrown against a tree, where he stayed, pinned by the power of the demon.

"I'll get to you in a minute, champ. But I'm proud of you – knew you had it in you." He approached Dean as I struggled to get him up. Suddenly we were both pinned to the tombstone behind us.

"Sit a spell," he said to us, smiling. "So, Beth, I got to thank you. You see, demons can't resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, red tape – it'll make you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation. Now I wasn't counting on that, but I...I always liked him better than Jake." He laughed, and then looked at me. "Tell me – have you ever heard the expression, 'If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is'?" I stared at him.

"You call that deal good?" I asked him. Behind us I could see Bobby, Cole and Ellen struggling to get the doors closed on the crypt. We needed more time.

"Well, it's a better shake than your dad ever got, if you remember? And you never wondered why? I'm surprised at you." I frowned, I was curious what was so interesting about me, but I seriously doubted he'd tell me even if I asked. The demon crouched closer to me, his yellow eyes staring into mine. "I mean... you saw what your brother just did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn't it?" He chuckled, looking over a Dean, then back at me. "How certain are you that what you brought back is 100% pure Sam?" He asked, and I stared at him, horrified.

He looked at Dean. "You of all people should know that what's dead, should stay dead. I wasn't counting on your knight in shining armour routine to bail her out though," said the Demon, turning back to me. "Pity." I glared at him.

"Just the same, I knew I kept you both alive for a reason. Until now, anyway. I couldn't have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourselves for your family."

The demon took a step back and cocked the colt, pointing it at Dean. We struggled against the hold had on us, but it was strong, we didn't stand a chance. As he went to pull the trigger, I saw a familiar face appear behind the demon. John.

John grabbed the demon from behind, wrestling with it and we saw the smoky figure of the demon pulled by John out of the body it was possessing. The body fell to the ground, Colt still in his hand, and the hold the demon had on us was released, we could move. The souls of the demon and John wrestled, but the demon was stronger. He pushed John aside and reclaimed the body he had been in.

Dean was ahead of him. As the demon stood up, fully back in his body, Dean had grabbed the Colt and was holding it extended out. He pulled the trigger, shooting the demon in the shoulder. The demon turned to look at Dean with shocked yellow eyes before falling to the ground, dead.

Bobby, Ellen and Cole closed the gate doors on the crypt, shutting out the demons that were escaping, and turned to see John. Cole let out a surprised gasp, and I saw John look over at her with a smile on his face.

I got to my feet, helping Dean up, he was a little unsteady from the blow to his head, his eyes looking slightly unfocused. John walked up to us both, putting a hand each on our shoulders. We were all crying, I couldn't believe I was seeing him. I couldn't believe he was standing right in front of us, free of that place. I felt a hard rock settle in my stomach as I realised that I was responsible for condemning Dean to the same place John had just escaped. John pulled us into a big hug, and then looked over at Sam.

Sam had come up behind us and was staring at his father, and John turned to smile at him releasing us from his embrace, his touch from Dean and I fading.

"Dad?" Sam asked, looking at him.

"Hi son," John said to him, a proud look on his face.

"John?" Cole said in shock, coming over from the crypt.

"Nicole..." John said sadly, "hey baby." He reached out and touched her cheek and she leaned in to him, surprised she could feel it.

Dean stared down at the demon in front of us. "Well, check that off the to-do list," he said and we all chuckled at Dean's whimsical sense of humour.

"You did it," John said proudly, looking at Dean.

"I didn't do it alone," Dean said, nodding back at his father.

"You really climbed out of Hell?" Sam asked John, staring at the shimmering figure in front of us. He was there, but he wasn't really there. He was a spirit, he was still dead, but he was no longer in that Pit of horror, and that's what mattered.

John nodded. "The door was open," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"And if anyone's stubborn enough to crawl out, it would be you," Bobby said gruffly to him, trying to ignore the way Cole and John were looking at each other.

"Bobby..." John started, looking over at his old friend.

"Forget it John," Bobby said with a wave of his hand. "Water under the bridge."

"Yeah," Ellen said with a nod. "On both counts." John exchanged a long look with her, tears in his eyes and he nodded.

"Thank you." He said softly.

"I kind of can't believe it," Sam said, still stunned. "I mean, our whole lives, everything... everything has been prepping for this, and now I..." he chuckled, shaking his head. "I kind of don't know what to say."

Dean smiled, looking at me. He'd been planning this a long time, we'd talked about it many nights.

"I do," Dean said quietly. He leaned down to the body of the demon, staring right into the his still open eyes, now faded and lifeless. "That was for our mom...you son of a bitch."

We all looked at him, crouched there, and there was nothing more that could be said. When Dean stood up again, John and Cole had moved away from the group, they were talking in hushed tones, and she was crying while he stood with an arm around her.

"Come on," I said to the rest of the group. "Let's leave them alone, they have a lot to talk about and who knows how long he has."

* * *

I pulled the boys toward the Impala, and Bobby and Ellen followed. As we reached the car Bobby and Ellen went to his truck, breaking out a whiskey bottle.

Sam looked over at us, a stern expression on his face.

"You know, when Jake saw me...it was like he saw a ghost." He scoffed at us. "I mean, hell, you heard him. He said he killed me."

"I'm glad he was wrong," Dean said, still stubborn as all hell, refusing to budge on telling Sam about the deal.

"I don't think he was, Dean. What happened... after I was stabbed?" Sam asked, suspicious.

"We already told you," Dean said elusively.

"Not everything," Sam said, narrowing his eyes at us.

"Sam, we just killed the demon. Can't we just celebrate for a minute?" Dean asked with a groan, and he slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me against him.

"Did I die?" Sam asked, turning to look at me. "Beth?"

"Oh, come on." Dean groaned.

"Did you sell your soul for me, like Dad did for you?" Sam asked Dean, turning to look at him.

"Oh, come on! No!" Dean said, shaking his head. Technically, it was the truth.

"Tell me the truth." Sam said, and Dean ran a hand across his mouth, sniffing back tears.

"Sam..." I said to Sam quietly.

"Beth..." Dean said in a warning tone.

"Beth, tell me the truth!" Sam said, looking at me.

"I did, I did it," I said to him, tears in my eyes. Sam looked at me shocked.

"What? Why Beth?" He asked, looking at me.

"Don't get mad at me," I said sadly to him. "I had to. I had to look out for you." I grasped at his hands and he shook his head, pulling them back.

"How long did you get?" He asked, looking at me. Dean stiffened beside me, and I glanced at him. I didn't know how to tell him.

"What else aren't you telling me?" Sam asked, seeing the exchange.

"I countered the deal, when I found out." Dean said, looking at Sam. "Beth walks free, and you get to live."

"What?! Are you both mad?" Sam said, incredulous. "How long do you have?"

"Sam..." Dean said, shaking his head.

"How long?!" He asked again.

"One year," I said quietly, tears in my eyes. Sam reeled back, shaking his head.

"You guys shouldn't have done this. How could you both do that?" Sam asked, fighting back his emotions. He looked at us, anguished.

"It's my job Sam! My job is to look out for you, and for Beth, and so that's what I did." Dean said, his arm tightening around my waist.

"And what do you think my job is?" Sam asked.

"What?" I asked him, confused.

"You've both saved my life over and over. I mean, you've sacrificed _everything _for me. Don't you think I'd do the same for you? You're my big brother, my big sister. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you guys!" He looked at Dean. "And I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna get you out of this. Guess it's my turn to save your ass for a change."

Dean half-smiled at him, and I raised my eyebrow. "Yeah," Dean said softly.

Cole walked up to us, she seemed a little lighter, but there was a sadness behind her eyes.

"Well... the yellow-eyed demon might be dead. But a lot more got through that gate," she said to us, I turned to look at her.

"Where's Dad?" I asked, looking for John's spirit.

"Gone," she said sadly, looking at us.

The boys nodded, and I felt saddened that I couldn't have seen him one more time.

"How many, do you think?" Dean asked, pushing past that announcement, shoving it down where he didn't have to look at it, instead turning his attention to the demons.

"Hundred," Ellen said, coming up behind us. "Maybe two hundred. It's an army. He's unleashed an army."

"Hope to hell you kids are ready. 'Cause the war has just begun," Bobby said, looking at the four of us.

I sighed. I didn't want to be fighting a war, it was the last thing I wanted to be thinking about. The clock was ticking and I knew that I would have an internal countdown permanently in my brain, counting down the days to when that crossroads demon would be coming for Dean. We had to figure out a way to break the deal before then, we had to. Dean obviously felt differently, because his face took on a sudden expression of determination and he turned around to the Impala's trunk, opening it and tossing the Colt inside before closing it again with a bang.

"Well then," Dean said, looking around at us. "We got work to do." I looked at him, proud and strong, watching me with guarded eyes.

"Any idea where to start?" I asked, looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

He smirked at me, looking around at the others. Well, we're about an hour away from Green River, that little B&B we like so much... they have pie," he suggested, and I grinned, shaking my head. Leave it to Dean to think about pie in a moment like this.

"No complaints?" Dean asked, looking around. "Well ok then! Pie it is!" And he jumped in the driver's seat of the Impala, starting the car up. I got in the passenger side while Sam and Cole took the back. Bobby and Ellen were in his truck. We pulled away from the cemetery at a slow pace, picking it up as we hit the black top. Dawn was coming up over the horizon, the sun getting ready to light up a new day. In an hour we'd have somewhere to sleep, somewhere to wash away the last few days of hurt and anguish, and we could top it off with some of Eleanor's famous apple pie.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Running Up That Hill _(Cover) by Placebo

* * *

And that's it folks! Season 2 done and dusted. I don't know if there will be a short story before I move on to Season 3 or not. Possibly, actually. I'd like to do Beth's POV on _How To Save A Life _next, which I think fits in better with this story – it'll be a nice little flashback into beginning relationship Dean & Beth before we move into the War on Demons. I'll just see what comes out. If it gets written before _The Magnificent Seven _it'll likely be the last chapter before the new Season starts a new story. Let me know what you think!

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Don't forget to check out the Facebook Page - Dean & Beth Supernatural FanFic. There is a link in the last chapter for you too. There's going to be one for John and Cole going up soon too.

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If you're not sure who Cole is, or you want to read more about her and the relationship she has with John, check it out over at _How To Save A Life _by EarthhAngel :) It's got some pre-relationship Dean & Beth in there too. In fact, this story kind of showcases when they start acting on their feelings for real, and why.

Thanks as always to EarthhAngel for loaning me Cole for the story :) And for making sure I didn't butcher the story too much!

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Please leave a review! You know I love them and they make me all giddy inside! Much love to everyone who takes the time to let me know what they think of the story, love you all!


	26. Bring Me To Life Part 1 (Flash back)

**Author's Note: **This is a crossover to EarthhAngel's _How To Save A Life _story taken from Beth's POV. So there's some new stuff as we get to see what really happened when Cole wasn't around, and also Beth's POV of combined scenes together :) It is taken right around the time Dean & Beth decide that it's time to break the rules and get involved.

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_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?__  
__Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb__  
__Without a soul my spirit's sleeping somewhere cold__  
__Until you find it there and lead it back home_

_Wake me up inside__  
__Wake me up inside__  
__Call my name and save me from the dark__  
__Bid my blood to run__  
__Before I come undone__  
__Save me from the nothing I've become_

_Now that I know what I'm without  
__You can't just leave me  
__Breathe into me and make me real  
__Bring me to life_

* * *

**BRING ME TO LIFE – PART 1**

**(Approximately 4.5 years ago)  
****_Right before Dean & Beth get together_**

* * *

_**Worthington,  
Minnesota**_

I was sprinting through a mass of graves, in a cemetery, at night. Three of my least favourite things. At least there was a full moon out which was lighting my way, of course, that was half the problem too. Full moons: generally only mean one thing when it comes to the supernatural. Werewolves.

I'd heard the howl a good thirty yards or more ahead of me, and I was running as fast as I could to get there. We'd all split it, to canvass the area where this werewolf had been attacking people for the last few nights. We were nearing the end of the moon cycle, and if we didn't catch it soon, it would disappear for another month and we'd have to come back and start all over again. That's if it was even still around by then.

I rounded the edge of the cemetery, there was a park next door, and I vaulted over the waist-high fence, landing on my feet to keep on running. I could see John approaching through the trees to my right, and I veered off to join him. Ahead of us there was a scuffle going on. The werewolf was in half-wolf, half-human form, which made it stronger and tougher than a regular human, long claws extended from its fingers, and big snarling teeth were bared.

Dean was now gripping those teeth with his hands, trying to stop the creature from biting him. I almost panicked when I saw the creature rear back and swing out with a claw, slashing him in the face. Dean cried out and fell back. The werewolf moved to take a bite out of him but it was short-lived. John came running into the space, gun drawn and fired into it's back four times.

Silver bullets are a bitch to werewolves, they work every time. I watched as the werewolf fell on top of Dean, dead. This victory was short-lived, just as we stopped and I moved toward Dean to help him get up, a blur of a figure came shooting out of the shadows. It hit John head on, smashing him into a large oak tree, he fell to the ground with a grunt, dropping his gun. Sam had appeared and tackled the half-wolf figure to the ground, pulling it off his father.

They rolled a few times until they hit a park bench, and then the wolf picked up Sam and tossed him several feet through the air into a prickly bush. I had a clear shot suddenly and I took it, aiming for the heart and pulling the trigger. I shot the wolf five times, almost emptying my entire gun into it, stopping just in case we found there was a third wolf, never hurt to be cautious – besides, this one had probably been dead after the third bullet, I was just angry.

Dean rolled to his feet with a grunt as I reached him, I pulled him away from the body of the first werewolf and looked him over, stopping to catch my breath as he reached a hand up to dab at his eyes.

"Ahhh, son of a bitch!" He said, blinking as blood pooled in his eye.

"Stop, let me," I said to him, batting his hand away. I pulled a clean cotton handkerchief out of my jacket pocket and held his head gently with one hand, dabbing his eye with the other. There was a gash underneath his right eye, and it was bleeding profusely. I grimaced and held the handkerchief up to it, applying a little bit of pressure.

"Oooh, that's gonna need stitches," I said and Dean groaned.

"Great..." he said. I let him hold the handkerchief while I looked over the body of the werewolves, now in human form, it was a couple and they looked relatively young. Sam was helping John get to his feet: he was clutching his ribs, obviously in a bit of pain from having hit that tree.

"We're gonna need some doctoring," I said, looking over at them both.

John assessed the damages, Dean would need stitches, he clearly was going to have to have those ribs taped, and Sam was gingerly touching his side where he'd pulled a muscle and was covered in various bumps, bruises and scratches, much like myself.

"Well then, guess we're going home for a bit of Cole TLC," John said with a grin. I smirked, nothing like having a nurse living at the place you called sometimes-home.

* * *

_**Sioux Falls,  
South Dakota**_

An hour later I was pulling the Impala up to the house we called a second home, possibly even a first home given that I wasn't really sure motels counted in that capacity. It was after 2am, but that never stopped us. John pulled his truck up next to us and got out, wincing a little at his sore ribs, I pretended not to notice, he didn't like being babied.

I rounded the car to the passenger door and opened it, reaching in to help Dean out. He waved me off with a frustrated sigh.

"Get off me! I'm not an invalid!" He grumped and I crossed my arms and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Fine," I said, and he looked at me, I narrowed my eyes at him and shook my head. "Bitch."

"Jerk!" He said, standing up to face me. I tried to keep a straight face, but I couldn't help it, he was such a pain in the ass sometimes, stubborn and proud, but he was a big baby underneath it all when it came to injuries.

I sighed and smiled at him. "Come on Rocky, let's get that eye seen to," I said, chewing on my lip. It had stopped bleeding for the moment, but it looked really sore and like it might start up again at any time. Dean nodded and started walking toward the front porch.

The light came on and I blinked in the sudden brightness. "What in tarnation is going on out here?!" Bobby's voice said somewhat quietly in our direction. I grimaced. He was looking a bit bedraggled in some old sweatpants and a t-shirt, his hair looking like he'd been asleep for the past few hours. _Probably because he has been, _I thought to myself.

"Hey Bobby," John said, grabbing his duffel bag from the back of his truck. "I'm afraid we're going to have to impose on you for a few days."

Bobby took one look at us all hobbling about and his angry look faded to concern. "What have you guys been picking a fight with now?"

"Werewolves," Sam groaned, walking up the steps and past him into the house. I had a hand on Dean's arm, this time he hadn't shrugged me off, and I watched his balance as he made his way up the steps. I let go as I reached Bobby, leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"Hey Bobby," I said with a smile.

"Hey baby girl, how are you?" He said with a smile, the gruff exterior disappearing.

"Better than them," I replied, chuckling. He turned and waved me inside, following with John.

Dean and Sam were sitting at the kitchen table, John had wandered off to collect our bags. I went straight to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass before walking into the kitchen. I poured Dean a half glass of whiskey and put it in front of him. He groaned and took a sip, sighing as he looked up at me with his battered eye, it was almost swollen shut, I made a mental note to get an ice pack out of the freezer when it had been cleaned and patched up.

"Thanks," he muttered and I patted him on the shoulder, causing him to flinch, apparently he'd hurt that too.

"Sorry," I said softly, looking over at Bobby.

"Let's get the medical supplies out of the library Beth," Bobby said to me. "Then you can go wake up Cole to deal with that one," he nodded toward Dean. I grinned and followed him.

We raided the cupboard for bandages, gauze, suture, needles, cotton pads, anything and everything we might need to deal with the injuries inside. I grabbed another couple of bottles of alcohol, we'd likely be drinking more as the night wore on, and there was always the sterilizing reason. As we walked back into the kitchen I heard Cole talking to the boys.

"What the Hell happened to you guys?" She asked as we rounded the corner, coming up and dumping the supplies on the table. She smiled at me before turning to open, bending down to look for something as John came into the room. He headed to the fridge too, leaning over her.

"Easy now, don't straighten up yet," he said and pulled the freezer door open, reaching inside for some ice packs. Cole wasn't one for taking orders, and after a few seconds I saw her stand up and turn to face John. I expected to see her trademark raised eyebrow, but it wasn't there, instead she looked a bit startled, especially when John leaned in and said something quietly to her.

He pulled away and went to sit next to Sam. I hovered in the kitchen, not really sure what I should be doing, my mind was on Dean and his eye, which Bobby was scrubbing away at with some alcohol and a cloth.

Dean flinched and tried to pull away. "Ow, dammit Bobby, you're not scrubbing the floors here," he muttered. I rolled my eyes at the big baby and put another glass of whiskey in front of him which he grabbed at and took a big gulp.

"Please, Dean, he's just getting you ready for when I get a hold of you," Cole grinned at him and I almost chuckled except that sometimes these two didn't know when to put the play fighting away. Dean cocked an eyebrow at her, looking her over in her tank top and pyjama pants.

"Really?" He said, "You gonna make me scream louder?" He asked with a lick of his lips. I did smirk then, crossing my arms and waiting for Cole's reply.

I was still smarting a little from the last case we'd worked. We'd been down in Texas a month ago on our own, John had been off doing his own thing. Dean, Sam and I had taken up a case involving a haunted house, which ended up being something else altogether. During that time Dean and I had been at each other's throats, the tension high.

So perhaps I hadn't helped matters accepting a date from a very nice looking, generous and friendly music store owner. I thought about the kiss I'd shared with Ewan and smiled a bit, it had been breath-taking. Dean hadn't been impressed, interrupting the date and more or less dragging me back to the motel. Not before kissing me himself though. That had been confusing and typical for us. Years of this bullshit to-and-fro stuff where inevitably I gave in to my feelings for him, letting him in for a moment, and then I ran: afraid of the consequences.

A month before that we'd been in Ohio where John had stuck us for a few weeks while he went off to help another hunter with a poltergeist case. We'd been bored out of our brains, Dean had hooked up with a girl called Cassie and while I knew we couldn't be together, I was still insanely jealous over the whole thing. I think that had been more why I'd taken that date with Ewan, I had been getting a little payback of my own.

"Honey," Cole said, lifting Dean's chin up to look him over. "By the time I'm done with you, you won't have a voice for at least 24 hours," she said with a grin. Dean swallowed hard, his smile faltering under the gaze of the pretty blonde. He shifted uncomfortably under her touch and fell silent, glancing over at me. Cole smirked at him, looking pleased that she'd seemed to win that round.

"What the hell is wrong with you two idjits?!" Bobby snapped, watching the whole exchange like a hawk. "Don't think that just because you two are grown now I'm gonna allow any shenanigans!" He said and my jaw almost hit the floor. I exchanged a look with Cole and she grinned at me, she knew how I felt about Dean. I decided it was time to busy myself with other things, and went over to John to help him with bandaging up his ribs.

When all the doctoring was over, Cole stretched and looked at the stove, it was 3am; I was finishing up with John's bandages, and Dean now had five stitches in his face, and an ice pack over the eye. Sam and Bobby had been talking about the werewolf that had almost taken a bite out of Dean, and I looked over a few dozen times, trying to ascertain if there was anything else he needed. One hazel eye peeped out at me from where he didn't have an ice pack, and I grimaced at him, that was going to hurt in the morning.

Cole popped a pill in Dean's hand and he nodded at her, downing it with a couple mouthfuls of water. Sam suddenly stretched and let out a big yawn. He winced as he pulled the same muscle in his side that he'd hurt earlier, but he covered the pain up by standing up and heading for the stairs. "I'm tired," he said. "I think I'm going to head upstairs to bed."

"The sheets are clean, and both beds are made up," Cole called out to him and he nodded, waving good night to everyone.

Dean reached out and squeezed Cole's hand in an uncharacteristic show of affection for the pair of them. "Thanks Cole," he muttered, then glanced over at me again before standing up. He moved to follow Sam but the effects of the whiskey and medication must have hit him hard because he stumbled, grabbing at a chair as he lost his balance. I was at his side in an instant, wrapping my arm around his waist as I helped him toward the stairs.

We made it slowly to the second floor. He was leaning on me heavily, his breathing a little hard. When we got into the spare room Sam had already claimed the single bed, and was snoring away – he'd obviously gone out as soon as his head hit the pillow. This left the double free. I helped Dean to the side of the bed, leaning down to pull off his boots, and then undoing his jeans and shucking them to the floor too. He didn't argue, rolling on to his back and under the sheets. I went to leave when his hand shot out and grabbed my wrist.

"Stay?" He said softly and I stared down at him. He was still holding the ice pack against his eye, watching me silently. I chewed on my lip a little and then nodded at him. I could already tell this was going to be one of those nights where the lines got a little blurred between us, but I couldn't help it, sometimes my heart got the better of me.

I slipped back out into the hallway, standing on the landing as Bobby made his way up the stairs.

"Everything ok?" Bobby asked as he reached me. I nodded at him with a smile.

I turned to look down the stairs at John and Cole who were at the kitchen table still. I could see them through the open archway. I bit my lip, trying to come up with a reason to stay in the spare room and not in Cole's room tonight.

"Hey Dad?" I said, and saw John look up at me. "Are you ok to sleep on the couch? I might sleep in with Dean, he's not breathing so well... I want to keep an eye on him," I said. John didn't even hesitate, just nodding his assent. I turned back toward the room while Bobby and Cole started talking about sheets and bedding for the couch.

The room was a kind of a long rectangle, with a corner cut out of it. The single was pushed into the far corner of that smaller end under a window, while the double was at the other end under another window. It was shoved up against the wall; I looked over at Sam from where I stood next to the bed and realised that all I could make out of him was his feet. Other than the moonlight from outside, it was dark in the room.

Dean had rolled over to the far side of the bed and fallen asleep. I slipped out of my own jeans and boots. While I was out of the room Dean had thrown his over-shirt on the floor, leaving him in just a t-shirt and boxers. I rummaged through my duffel, which John had obviously brought up earlier, and found a tank top to change into. I shrugged out of my jeans and top, then lost my bra as well, pulling on the tank top and changing into a pair of pyjama shorts.

I crawled in beside him, trying not to wake him, just staring at that peaceful face on the pillow beside me. I don't know how long we lay like that, maybe an hour, a couple of times I brushed his hair back, and I would check his breathing. I didn't want to sleep, I just wanted to stare at him all night.

All of a sudden Dean stirred next to me, reaching out a hand to brush it along my face. I startled, realising that he wasn't asleep, and I'd just been staring at him for how long? He knew it now too. His hard slipped under my hair, brushing along the back of my neck where he grasped me and pulled my head down to his.

I almost forgot to breathe as his brushed his lips across mine. I hesitated for just a moment before giving in to what I wanted the most: him. I sighed softly, moving to lie beside him, my hand snaking out to slide along his hip. Dean moaned a little and leaned in to me, pushing me back against the mattress so he could deepen the kiss with a neediness that we were both feeling.

His hand ran along the side of me and I gasped at the touch, moaning into the kiss as his tongue met mine, slowly and methodically massaging it, drawing things out. He caressed along the bare skin at my hip, hesitating when he hit my shorts, and I wound my arms up around his neck, arching up to feel him pressed more firmly against me.

I heard his breath catch and his hand moved away from the danger zone, the part that would make this just a little more than a couple of stolen kisses in the heat of the night. We'd never crossed that line in all those years, and I didn't know if we ever would. Hot electric pulses rushed across my skin as Dean brought his hand up over my tank top, trailing his fingers just under my breast. I moaned and Dean silenced it with another kiss.

The sensations that simple touch were stirring in me had me on edge and I started to breathe a little quicker, then I felt the beginning of a slight panic attack. _What were we doing?! We couldn't! _I pulled back a little and Dean's eyes darkened as they stared at me. I saw something different in them this time, a resolute understanding. Something had changed in him. It caused me to pause, chewing at my lip.

"Sorry," he said to me, brushing his hand across my face.

"For?" I asked, a little breathless.

"Pushing," he said, looking down at me.

"You're not..." I said, "I want to... it's just."

He nodded, looking down at me. "We can't..." I nodded back at him with a sigh.

He bit his lip, and looked down at me. "Pretend it's a dream," he said gently, and leaned in to kiss me again. I groaned, winding my arms around his neck, my hand running up into his hair as he slowed things right down, lingering on the kisses, trailing his tongue along my upper lip and then sucking on it softly. I thought Ewan's kiss had been good, this was phenomenal and I felt tears come to my eyes as I realised this was something I could never hope to own. Little stolen moments like this were all we'd ever get.

* * *

A few hours later the sun started to rise. Dean was wound around me, like an octopus, and it felt really good, if it wasn't so wrong. There was a faint sound of something crashing downstairs and I tensed in his arms, he mumbled into my shoulder, kissing it and I looked up.

"What was that?" I asked quietly and Dean frowned, looking over my shoulder at me.

"Huh? What?" He asked, and he shifted, I became very aware that he had a morning visitor who had risen to say hello, it was pressed in against my back.

"There was a noise downstairs," I whispered, trying not to think about the insistent prodding against me.

Dean shrugged and pulled me back into him, "Eh, it was nothing, come here," he mumbled, and started to kiss along my neck. Sam stirred in his sleep and then started moving around. I panicked a little, pulling out of Dean's arms as Sam crawled out of bed, heading for the door. He barely even glanced at us as he passed, we had the blankets pulled up over us, not like he'd have seen much even if he had.

Reality set in for me, and I leaned against the wall looking at Dean's eye – it was a lot better, still a little bruised, red and sore around where the stitches were, but the swelling had gone down overnight.

I climbed over him to the side of the bed and he groaned a protest. But I had to be responsible here. I started grabbing at things that were mine, scattered on the floor from looking through my bag last night. I felt tears coming into my eyes before I'd even thought about what I was about to do, how I was about to run away.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked, rolling over to look at me in frustration.

"Getting my things, I'll bunk in with Cole for the rest of the stay," I said to him, I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

Dean sat up in bed, swinging his legs around to the edge. "So we're not going to talk about what happened last night?" He asked me, and I paused, looking down at my hands before glancing up at him, silent tears running down my face.

"Beth," Dean said, looking sadly at me. "Oh Beth, come on, don't cry," he said to me, moving off the bed and taking a step toward me as if he was going to pull me into his arms. I panicked, stepping back and holding out my hand.

"I can't..." I whispered, and I saw years of frustration and anger cross his face.

"Dammit Beth! Why do you always do this?" He said loudly to me and I watched him bristle, putting his hands on his hips.

"Do what Dean?" I asked, shoving the rest of my things into my bag and lifting it on to the bed to zip it up.

"Push me away! You're hot, you're cold, just make up your damn mind!" He said angrily to me and I flinched at the tone. _How had things gone from him understanding everything last night to this?_

"You know we can't," I said, but then I realised, he hadn't meant it. The look he was giving me told me that time was up, he was sick of the waiting. I felt my heart skip a beat, but a moment later it crashed down. _How could we? What would John say? _

"I didn't mean it..." I said softly instead, when what I really wanted to say was _Yes. _I lowered my head, hair falling in my face, I couldn't look at him like this. He knew I was lying, he had to, but he didn't call me on it.

"Yeah, you never do!" Dean snapped at me and I closed my eyes, fighting back more tears. He grabbed a few things from his bag and then turned on his heel, storming out the door. As he pulled it open, Cole's eyes met mine, startled. She'd been just outside the door and I knew she would have heard some of what we'd been saying.

Cole came into the room as Dean flew past her.

"Hey so how'd you sleep?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Fine," I replied, not looking at her. I decided I really needed to take a shower and grabbed my toiletries bag, starting to move toward the bathroom.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Cole said. "Dean just ran over me to get in there."

"Oh," I said, not realising that's where he had been headed.

"Honey what were you two fighting about?" Cole asked gently, reaching out to place a hand on my shoulder. I sank on to the bed with a sigh, the heaviness of my heart taking over.

I didn't know where to start. "I woke up, and Dean was wrapped around me like an octopus." _And it felt so good. _I thought about what else had been in the mix and it just seemed to make things worse. "...and he was all turned on! And Sam was in the room!" I whispered loudly, groaning and covering my face with my hands.

"An octopus, really? Is that the best you can come up with?" Cole smirked at me, laughing quietly.

"No, you don't understand," I said to her. _She really didn't! _"We're talking this number," I said with a slight laugh, pulling her on to the bed with me, rolling her over and pinning her to the side, wrapping my arms and legs around her like Dean had done this morning to me. Cole was laughing and suddenly I didn't find it funny anymore. I pulled off her and rolled on to my back.

I looked over at the pretty blonde lying next to me, watching me with cool assessing eyes. She was three years older than me, and we hadn't always hit it off when we first met, but she was a big sister to me now. I told her everything.

"I don't know why I do it to myself Cole," I said quietly. "I budge, just a little, and then our whole world shifts." I sat up, hugging my knees to my chest.

"What the hell happened up here last night?" Cole asked with a goofy smile on her face.

"We made out!" I whispered to her urgently. "For ages!" I couldn't help the smile that came to my face just thinking about it. "He was... wow just..." My voice tailed off, there were no words. "God!" I threw myself back on the bed again, covering my face with my hands. After a moment I rolled on to my side, looking at her seriously. "Dad would kill us." I said quietly.

Cole watched me, thinking. She knew what Dean and I had been through, she knew how hard we fought to stay away from each other because I told her. Every single time something like this happened I was calling her on the phone, confessing my sins like she was a priest who could give me absolution.

"Tell me about the boner," Cole said with a grin, obviously trying to change the subject because she didn't know what to say about John.

I groaned, and looked toward the door which she had closed behind her. "That thing should be considered a weapon," I said with a raised eyebrow. It wasn't the first time I'd woken up with Dean wrapped around me and a morning erection, but I was certainly starting to pay more attention when they did happen.

"Well in some instances they do consider it a weapon," she said quietly and I cringed. Cole had shared with me her deepest, darkest secret a few months back. She'd been at a party when her boyfriend at the time had raped her, two other guys joining in. She's been shattered ever since – I think it was made even worse because we were trained to fight, John and Bobby had been teaching us to be warriors, and she had been unable to get them off her, to stop it from happening.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." _to imply that this was always a laughing matter._

Cole brushed it off. "Don't worry about it," she said dismissively. I decided to change the subject.

"Enough of this boring talk," I said, feeling my stomach start to churn from hunger. "Let's go get some breakfast!" I smacked her on the leg and rolled off the bed, feeling better already with the idea of getting some food into me.

We were moving down the hallway toward the stairs when Cole brought up Dean again. "So what did it feel like?" She asked with a giggle. I looked over at her, stopping in the middle of the hall, considering.

"It felt almost like someone had a .45 Smith and Wesson shoved in the small of my back," I said to her and she snorted before starting to laugh. _Well it did!_ I'd now had both in my back, I wasn't sure which was better to be honest. "And it's not the first time it's happened!" I reminded her with a grin, referring to the time we'd been in Philadelphia with Jefferson, hunting a homicidal spirit, and I'd woken up in a similar position with Dean.

"At least you know he's big," she said with a wink, and I rolled my eyes, starting toward the stairs again. The bathroom door flung open as we reached it and Dean came out wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. There were still beads of water clinging to his bare chest and I felt my breath catch. He was still fuming, and I looked away to avoid further confrontation with him, he would need some time to simmer down, but he'd get over it – we always did.

Cole was giving him an appreciative stare as he pushed past us with a sigh, heading toward the bedroom.

"Damn girl, you are gonna be so lucky one day," she breathed to me, watching him go. I looked at her sadly, and shook my head. She had more faith in Dean and me working out than I ever would.

Sam came down the hallway from the other direction, and ran into Dean as they both reached the doorway to the spare room. Dean shoved him angrily and Sam looked surprised, then shoved him back.

"Don't push me today Sammy!" Dean snapped, and I flinched, this was all my fault.

I heard the pair of them wrestling in the bedroom and fought the desire to run in after them and break it up. "Shove off Dean!" Sam yelled at him. "You are such an ass lately!" I frowned, he was right, Dean had been on edge, and it had all started to escalate these last few months.

Cole and I had reached the landing and were heading down the stairs when the boys came barreling out of the bedroom, pushing past us. I sighed and started to follow them, Cole lingering on the landing a little longer. I was starving and couldn't wait to get some eggs scrambled up in the pan. I hoped Cole had stocked up.

* * *

I had almost caught Dean on the way to the kitchen when he stopped short and I ran into him, not concentrating. Dean ignored me, staring in at the kitchen. It looked like a tornado had hit. Sam walked around the edge of the dining table, it now lay in pieces on the floor, and stared at a massive crack and dent in the wall. I realised I was looking at the source of the noise I'd heard earlier.

Bobby saw us and whirled around from where he was standing. "What the Hell did you two do to my kitchen you morons?!" He yelled, looking from Sam to Dean. The boys looked shocked at the accusation.

"Uh, Bobby, we seriously have no idea what you're talking about," Dean said, frowning.

Bobby snorted and shook his head, giving them a disbelieving look. "The last time anything in this house was broken, it was because the two of you were fighting." He gestured to the wall where Sam was standing. "Now I have a massive crater in my wall, and I have to go see if I can't rustle up a new table."

"Man, look the last thing I remember is Cole giving me that pain pill, and stitching up my face. Then Beth and I made it up the stairs to bed..." he paused, turning slightly to look at me, I wandered away to stand by the fridge, crossing my arms.

"I was out like a light," he lied, looking over at John who was making his way into the kitchen. "Although I do remember at some point you stole the covers, then kicked them off the bed," he said, turning back to me with a smirk. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh give me a break Dean, everyone here knows you're the cover hog!" I muttered angrily. _What the hell was he getting at, cover stealing? _Dean was still staring at me, conflicted, he was provoking me, but he didn't want to – _what was his game?_

John pushed his way through the bottleneck of people in the archway to the kitchen, heading for the coffee pot. "Actually Bobby, it's my fault," he confessed and I gaped at him. _Say what? _He poured himself a cup of coffee and turned to take a sip, looking at Bobby. "Cole and I were talking about fighting techniques. I opened my mouth and dared her to do something that my already sore ribs are so regretting now." He was staring at Cole, and I turned to look at her inquisitively. _What on earth had they been doing down here that would end in a broken table?_

"And she proved me wrong, came up fighting like a damn tiger, fighting for her own survival. I'll replace your table and fix the wall." He finished with a grin.

Bobby looked elated, and I swear he almost clapped his hands, beaming over at Cole who shifted a little uncomfortably under the look. "Of course, she came up all teeth and claws. She was raised right, a warrior. At least I'll never have to worry about some asshole hurting my little girl, Hell I'd bet she could fend off a dozen of Sam and Dean single handedly." He rambled and Cole started to look even more uncomfortable. I chewed on my lip, wondering how she was going to take that praise.

"We all have our moments of weakness," I said, and I wasn't sure whether I was saying it for Cole's benefit or my own, trying to reassure myself that it was ok to reject Dean, yet again. Cole rolled her eyes at me and bristled under the comment.

"Yeah, well it hasn't happened to me yet, so when it finally does I'll be sure to let you know," she said, turning to leave the kitchen. I looked at her, a little surprised, and she paused briefly beside me to whisper. "Thanks for the support. Love you." I shook my head a little, _what was this...opposites day? _

"I'm gonna go get in a work out. See you guys later," Cole said and she left the house.

I turned to look at Dean and he was back to being impassive, cold eyes turned toward me. I moved to go inspect the stitches under his eye and he brushed my hand away.

"I'm fine," he said, but his eyes said he was anything but fine. Sam frowned over at us and shook his head.

"Fine," I snapped at him, pushing past the broken table into the library and slouching on to the couch that John had apparently slept in last night. The sheets and pillow looked untouched. I raised my eyebrow at that, _just what had gone on down here last night?_

Sam and Dean were helping Bobby take the broken parts of the table outside, Bobby was muttering something about how it was really only good for firewood now, and even that he wasn't sure about. I decided I had to get out of the house, my hunger forgotten, and a run sounded good. I pulled on my tennis shoes, which I'd left by the door last time I was here, and headed out into the morning air.

I had a running track around the junkyard, among the different rows of beat up old cars and other assorted machines, I didn't even make it ten yards down when Bobby called out to me.

"Bethie! Can you tell Cole I want my table sorted out before dinner!" I stopped and waved at him to let him know I'd heard him, and I set a course through the junkyard which would weave me toward the gym at the back of the property.

A garage had been converted into the gym and sparring area a long time ago. One of the walls we'd taken out to give it some air flow and breathing space. It faced East out over the hills and the rest of the yard. I heard a crash as I neared the gym, and I hurried to get a look at what was going on. Cole had taken a crowbar and was smashing at a bench. The sounds echoed across the yard toward me. I moved toward her, but then a shadow came from the doorway on the other side and it gave me pause.

I watched in surprise as John grabbed at her, blocking a punch, and pulled her around to face him. I couldn't hear what they were saying, and I didn't want to interrupt, so I stayed where I was. Suddenly Cole started hitting John in a rage, and he didn't even fight back, I startled and moved toward them, surprised they hadn't seen me actually, but they were clearly thinking about other things.

This became more apparent when suddenly John pushed her up against a wall, his lips claiming hers and I stared, shocked. _How could he? _I had sensed something going on with the pair of them, but I had no idea it was like this. _Just what had been going on last night? Why hadn't his bed been slept in? How long had this been going on?! _I thought back to Dean and how hard we had fought our feelings for each other and I saw red, I couldn't believe John would betray his own rules like that. And with Cole! _Christ, she's practically his daughter!_

I ducked back behind a row of cars and made my way around to the door John had come in. I hesitated, this was Cole, _did I interrupt and let them get caught? Did I shout a warning? Did I confront them? _I decided to go with the least invasive, I needed time to think, to get Cole's side of the story, to consider how I felt about all this.

"Hey Cole?!" I called out, waiting for them to get a grip before I walked in the door. "What the heck are you doing out here? Your dad's bitching about his table. He wants us to go shopping pronto!" I figured I'd given them enough time, and I rounded the corner, stepping through the door. John pulled hastily away from Cole when I entered and she held out her hand expectantly to John.

"What?" He asked, smirking at her and raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, I do believe you offered to replace the table, that means cough up the dough _sugar daddy_," Cole said with a smirk, throwing me a cheeky grin. I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms with a grin of my own. _This should be interesting. _

John reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He looked at Cole with a bit of a chuckle when handing over his credit card. "Try to keep it under a thousand this time," he said, looking over at me. "_I mean it girls, _the last time the two of you got ahold of my card you maxed it out on a shopping spree." I rolled my eyes. _That was like three years ago!_

"Sorry Dad, but we're not the boys, we need more than a couple of pairs of jeans and a plaid shirt to get by in the world," I said, but I threw him an apologetic smile just the same. Truth be told, I probably needed to restock Dean and Sam's wardrobe a little, I tended to steal all their good hoodies and t-shirts, even though they were way too big for me.

John shook his head at me and smiled. I knew he wasn't really mad, he just liked to grump. Not like he paid the bills of the cards or anything. But like he often reminded me, credit card fraud wasn't easy.

"Yeah with all those crazy undercover outfits, panty lines are a real problem," Cole said, giving John a salacious look. He swallowed and then shook his head. I had a moment to realise that _oh my god Cole was flirting with him _before my jaw hit the ground.

"Whatever, you two just get outta here," John said with a wave of his hand. "Oh and take the boys with you."

Cole grabbed my arm and steered me back toward the house, giggling away like a teenaged school girl. I looked over at her, she seemed different, happy, and it kind of made me re-evaluate just how angry I was also feeling toward John. "Just let me grab a quick shower, and change into some jeans and a shirt; then we'll get Sam and Dean and go. Maybe we could stop for lunch?" Cole said, looking over at me. I nodded my agreement and she ran up the stairs toward the bathroom as we entered the house.

* * *

Dean and Sam were in the library. I was doing some serious thinking now; _What on earth did all this mean? And just how far did I want to take it?_ _Dean was gonna freak when I told him._ I paused in the doorway to the library at that thought. _Crap, what was I going to tell Dean? Should I? Shouldn't I? _He looked up at me when I entered and threw me a smile, I sighed, relieved he no longer seemed angry with me. These fights of ours never lasted very long, but they seemed like forever when they were happening.

"Hey Beth," Sam said to me, glancing up from a book he was reading.

"Hey Sammy," I said, "what are you reading?" I crossed over to pat him on the shoulder, looking at the book.

"Uhh, I dunno, something on trans-Planckian physics … or whatever..." he muttered, concentrating.

"Trans-what?" I asked, frowning. Sam looked up at me.

"Black holes," he clarified and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well why didn't you just say that in the first place?" Dean asked, scowling from his place on the couch where he was flipping through an anime comic book.

"Well because it's not just black holes it relates to … it's...a framework of..." his voice trailed off when he saw Dean wasn't paying attention and he shook his head.

"Hey did you see any mail for me lying around?" He asked me randomly, changing the subject and I shook my head.

"Nope, you expecting something?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"Yeah, maybe..." he muttered, standing up.

"What?" I asked.

"Huh?" Sam said, glancing at me.

"What are you expecting in the mail?" I asked again, turning to look at him appraisingly.

Sam shifted uncomfortably, shrugging his shoulders a little. He glanced over at Dean and then started to move for the door.

"Nothing important," he said, "I've gotta go use the bathroom..."

"Cole's in there!" I called out to him, but he was already half way up the stairs. I shook my head at him and then turned my attention to Dean, who was still wrapped up in his comic. I wandered over and stared at him. He deliberately ignored me even though I was standing right over him.

With a chuckle I decided that he wasn't angry at me because he hadn't done a sigh in my direction the whole time I'd been in the room. I decided to test the waters, see just how over this morning's fight he was. I scooted around to the front of the couch and plunked myself square in his lap, eliciting a pained groan out of him as I landed.

"Hey," I said to him, raising my eyebrow in his direction.

"Hey yourself," he said; he tried the stern look but gave up when he realised that I wasn't falling for the angry act.

"How's the eye?" I asked, chewing on my lip as I assessed his stitches. The swelling had really gone down; you could just see the stitches now, and a yellow bruise around his eye, a little bit of purple where the stitching was.

"It's ok," he said with a shrug, putting the comic aside.

"How's the uh..." he looked me over, then shrugged. "What exactly did you hurt last night?" He asked, grinning at me.

"Shut up!" I said with a giggle, shoving him playfully. "Just because I can manage to keep out of the way of werewolves doesn't mean I wasn't there pulling my own weight."

"Oh yeah?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "How come I'm always the one getting the stitches then?"

I shrugged with an amused look at him. I reached out and gingerly touched the skin around his stitches, he held still as I did so, barely even breathing. "Maybe it's because you will insist on being the hero..." I said softly, leaning in to get a closer look. I realised my face was just inches from his; memories of last night came flooding back and I felt myself blush a little, pulling back.

"Only when there's damsels in distress," he said, licking his lips as he looked at me.

"You calling me a damsel?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Nope," he said, looking up as Sam came almost sprinting down the stairs looking all flushed. "I'm calling Sammy one!" He said with a chuckle and nodded as John started walking down the stairs.

I climbed out of Dean's lap and then pulled him up to stand beside me. Cole came skipping down the stairs a moment later, freshly cleaned from her shower, new pair of jeans and a top on. She looked refreshed and happy, but I was looking for it. The looks, the little stolen moments like Dean and I often had; now I was looking for them, I noticed them everywhere!

I saw the way John glanced at Cole's lower back and ass as she leaned over to tie her shoes. I saw the way she looked up at him with a lazy grin, then winked at him. I saw how they would find excuses to be in the same section of the room with each other, to brush against each other, to talk to each other. In fact, it was like every single moment – _how the hell wasn't Dean noticing any of this? Or Bobby? Or hell, even Sam who usually noticed everything?!_

With a glance at Dean I noticed he was too busy making his own excuse to hang around me, talking about knives with Bobby, and then sliding a knife sheath over my left arm, fitting it against my bare skin. I watched his hands as they worked, and tried not to think about the caresses they had made to my body last night. I shivered, and swallowed hard, and he glanced up with me, his eyes darkening.

"That ok?" He asked, and showed Bobby. Bobby nodded his approval and slid a knife into the sheath.

"Perfect fit," he said to me, and I grinned. _Awesome!_

"Cool, do I get to keep it?" I asked with a curious look.

"Sure do baby girl, it's all yours," he said, ruffling my hair. I smiled and gave him a quick hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Bobby," I said, pulling back and admiring the knife now attached to my arm.

"What about me?" Dean asked with a pout.

"What about you?" I asked.

"Well I put it on you," he said and Bobby laughed, shaking his head.

"You pair..." he said with a chuckle, moving away. "Bloody idjits..."

John and Cole were looking over at us, and I shrugged. I stepped up to Dean and kissed his cheek in a playful, over-the-top manner. "Thank you Dean!" I said with a grin and Cole laughed. _Now that I thought about it, how on earth didn't John know there was something going on here either?_ Or sort of going on. I don't know what was happening with us. Things had escalated to full on breaking point in the last few months, and it was like a geyser ready to go off. Then again, John hadn't been around much in the last few months. I looked over at him and Cole, and I started to piece it together: maybe there was a reason for that.

"We going shopping then?" I asked, and Cole nodded, waving the credit card around in the air.

"Don't forget what I said!" John said to us, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah, keep it under $10,000," Cole said, skipping out the door.

"I said a thousand!" John yelled, looking at me. "I said a thousand!" He repeated. I leaned up and kissed his stubbly cheek.

"I know Dad, don't worry." I said and he turned a smile to me.

"Have a good time," he said, nodding at Dean as he stood by the door waiting for me.

* * *

_**Furniture Store  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

I was standing by a six-seater dining table, my chin resting in the palm of my hand. Dean was mimicking my pose, standing right next to me, shoulder to shoulder.

"Well it's gotta be stronger than what he had, but you know... we should make sure," Dean said turning a raised eyebrow to me. I grinned at him and then I started to wonder about how it was that the table in Bobby's kitchen had sudden ended up as next week's fire wood.

"What exactly were you and Dad _doing _on the table last night?" I hinted at Cole, narrowing my eyes and hoping to get a little guilty look from her. Cole didn't bat an eyelid, just turning innocent eyes to us.

"Yeah Cole," Dean said, grinning at her. "Give us a demo, I want to see the move that brought the unstoppable John Winchester to the floor." I shook my head at him, always out to best John in some way.

"Keep dreaming Dean, you're gonna have to work harder than that to get me on top of you," Cole smirked at him and I raised an eyebrow. Dean gulped at the thought, and then glanced sideways at me. I was staring at Cole, wondering if maybe I should go tit for tat on this little entendre, but I was distracted by Dean talking.

"Is that right?" He said to Cole, turning to look at me. "What about you?"

"You looking to get your ass kicked?" I asked him, throwing him a bit of a hard look.

"Cherry-pie if you can put me through that table, then, and only then, would I consider that an ass-kicking," Dean said with a smirk, and I narrowed my eyes at him. If there was one thing that got me going it was his bloody obnoxious attitude that he could best anyone, especially me. It always got me, and he knew it, he still did it though, which kind of pissed me off more.

I stormed off to look at other pieces of furniture, leaving Dean staring, speechless.

"What did I say?" I heard Dean ask, but I didn't answer, waving my hand in a dismissive gesture.

I turned just in time to see Cole hit him upside the head and I chuckled. _He totally deserved that. _My eyes were drawn to a young sales girl who had kind of been eyeing off Dean, she'd moved over toward the table when I stormed off and I watched out of the corner of my eye as Dean climbed up on the table we'd been looking at.

Marvin Gaye's _Sexual Healing _was playing over the PA system and I watched as Dean did a bit of strip tease, taking off his button down shirt and swinging it over his head like a lasso.

I started moving back toward him, aware that we were starting to draw a bit too much attention. John would kill us for being so stupid. Dean was starting to belt out the lyrics to the song.

"_Baaaaaby! I need sexual..." _I looked up at him, he was enjoying himself.

"Dean! Get down from there!" I said urgently, looking around at the people now staring in our direction.

Dean smirked and slid to his knees along the table, coming to a stop in front of me. "Make me," he said with a challenge in his voice, and he turned to the sales girl standing nearby, pulling her up on to the table with him. The girl looked delighted at the attention that he was suddenly showering on her, and my green-eyed dragon was not impressed.

"Hey, I'm Dean," he said to the girl with a husky voice and I sighed.

"I'm... I'm Stacey," replied the girl and Dean spun her around into his arms, starting to dance with her.

"_Baby, I got sick this morning, a sea was storming inside of me..." _he sung, glancing down at me. I thought about our own morning and wondered at the song, and why he was suddenly doing karaoke – Dean style. "_Baby, I think I'm capsizing, the waves are rising and rising..." _Stacey was blushing and giggling at his singing and the way he was handling her, but it was my eyes he was looking at. I stared at him, almost glaring as I contemplated my next move.

Stacey removed herself from the equation, helping with the planning of the next move. She saw the manager start making his way over to us and slid from Dean's arms, getting off the table. It wasn't such an easy choice for Dean who shrugged and continued to swing his hips around like he belonged in a _Madonna _video clip.

My lips twitched in an amused look as I grabbed him by the waistband of his jeans. He froze, looking down at me and I saw him hesitate, just for a second. Next I felt his strong arms circle me as he grabbed my hips, pulling me up on the table with him. I wasn't going to be outdone by that. I'd pulled out a couple of dollar bills before going up to him and now I produced them in the air, and then tucked them into his waistband with a grin. I really had to resist the urge to kiss him at that moment, thankfully Cole and Sam's amused laughter and cheers brought me back into myself.

"Woo!" Cole called out. "Take it all off baby!"

Dean grinned and started to pull at my shirt. "Ladies first," he breathed with a cheeky grin. I smirked, still holding on to his waistband.

"Make me," I challenged him in the same words he'd used on me. Dean's smiled faltered and I felt his hands circle my waist, brushing along the bare skin at my lower back. I sucked in a quick breath of air, wondering what I'd just gotten myself into, I had to break this moment or else god knows where it was going to end. The manager was walking quickly toward us, I saw him out of the corner of my eye.

Dean's hand had started to slip toward a button at the front of my shirt when I swept my leg around the back of his. I tripped him, both of us crashing to the surface of the table, I landed with a grunt on top of him. My face was just inches from his as I looked down, pinning him to the table.

"Beth!" Sam's voice cried out, startled, but I ignored him.

"Excuse me," the manager said, reaching us. I looked up, but kept myself still pinned along Dean's body. "I'm going to have to ask you to get down off the table, please."

"Yeah, yeah Kemosabe... hold you horses," Dean said, I looked back and he was still staring at me with a twinkle in his eyes. I tilted my head to the side and smiled at him.

"Pass your test?" I asked and Dean licked his lips, stroking his fingers along the bare skin at my side, sending a shiver all down my body.

"Yeah... yeah I think it might have," he said huskily with a grin.

Cole saved us, _thank God,_ stepping in with John's credit card and waving it in the air. "Hey, nice strong table, we'll take it!" She said to the manager. His eyes narrowed at her and she threw him a cheeky smile. "Don't suppose you'll throw in free delivery and a set of steak knives?" She asked.

* * *

_**Clothes Store  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

Cole had convinced me to go birthday shopping, after all we would need something to wear to the big birthday bash she had planned for me tomorrow. I hadn't even given it any thought whatsoever, but Cole being Cole, had been planning it for some time.

"You're turning twenty-one Beth! These things don't happen every year you know! We have to go celebrate!" She said, skipping ahead of us into the store. The boys followed us, shaking their heads. "We still have like four hundred dollars until we hit the thousand mark John set, we might as well make the most of it!"

I raised my eyebrow – four hundred dollars wasn't going to get very far with all of us shopping, but then, I was also sure Cole didn't have a problem going over-budget either. I smirked, looking at her as she started flipping through a display rack of clothing. _She did have an inside edge._

Sam shrugged and headed toward the men's section of the store, not too worried about this impromptu shopping spree. "I could use a couple new hoodies," he muttered, throwing me a smile. I'd kind of stolen his latest one, the colour was a great chocolate brown that looked great with my eyes, he should have known better.

Dean on the other hand was standing around looking at me. "Serious?" He asked, looking me over. "We're clothes shopping for a birthday bash that Dad hasn't even said 'yes' to yet?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He'll say yes!" Cole called out, hearing the comment from her post at the sales rack.

Dean snorted and looked me over. "Come on, since when don't you want to expand the clothing department?" I asked, walking over to him and tugging at his hand. He let me pull him over to the men's section where I started to going through some shirts. He could use a couple of nice shirts. _I'd love to see him in a nice shirt..._I stopped that train of thought. _What the hell was I thinking? _I looked over at him and he was staring at me.

I held up a beautiful navy blue shirt to him and smiled. "Nice, brings out the colour of your eyes," I said, passing it to him. _Not to mention it would cling to all the right curves on that torso. _I shook my head again, this really wasn't helping me with my resolve. I grabbed a few more t-shirts and a pair of jeans. Mentally adding clothes to him instead of taking them off. As I handed them all to him I realised that he really hadn't moved much.

"Why don't you go try some of these on..." I said, stopping at the look in his eyes. He was battling with some inner demon, that much was clear.

"Beth," he said, stepping closer. I stepped back a little, tilting my head to the side.

He sighed and looked around the shop. "Come on, really?" He asked and I frowned at him. I really wanted to give in to him, to stop pushing him away, but I couldn't yet, I didn't know what it would mean, how it would be taken. I wanted to talk to Cole some more and see what she thought.

I bit my lip. "Dean, you know …"

"...we can't," he said with a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, yeah. I heard it the first thousand times," he said. He pushed past me, dumping the clothes I'd handed him on a bench, heading for the door. I sighed, looking down at my hands.

"Beth!" Cole called out. "Where the hell is he going?"

I shrugged at her. She threw me a sympathetic look and then grinned. "Grab a couple of things for him and get over here, I need your opinion on something!" I took her advice, picking up the blue shirt, and a couple of t-shirts from the discarded pile, and heading over to her.

"OK," I said, pushing the whole exchange with Dean out of my mind. "What's up?"

"This?" Cole asked, holding up a cream sleeveless top with lace covering the bodice and straps. "Or this?" The second was a beautiful gold coloured spaghetti strapped top with a satin neckline, and low back. It just sparkled without being over the top and would bring out her hair highlights perfectly. I pointed at the gold top, it was a hands-down winner.

"Definitely that one," I said with a smile. She looked pleased and nodded.

"Lots of bare skin with it too," I commented slyly looking at her. She paused and grinned at me with a nod.

"Not that it matters," she said.

"Why do you say that?" I asked, starting to flip through a few items of clothing myself.

"Well, who have I got to wear it for?" She asked, and I narrowed my eyes at her. _Really? She was going to hide this from me? After all the times I'd confessed my stuff about Dean?_

"I'm sure Sam would appreciate it," I grinned at her, trying to rile her up. She scoffed and shook her head.

"Sam is like five years younger than me!" She said. I raised my eyebrow at her in amusement.

"Someone older then, but you can't have Dean," I said with a grin, crossing my arms and looking at her. Technically Dean was a few months younger than her. "Kind of only leaves Dad," I said with a smirk.

She paused, looking over at me, assessing. I busied myself flipping through some tops. I'd given her the perfect in, but she didn't take it, instead she moved over to the next rack of clothes and exclaimed happily.

"Oh Beth, I have your outfit!" She said, spinning around and brandishing it before me.

I looked at it, and was instantly in love. It was a black sports bra with a three-quarter length sleeved over top, completely made from black lace. It was stunning. I sighed, and looked at Cole.

"Put it back, there is _no way in hell _Dad's gonna let me leave the house wearing that, regardless of how old I am," I said with a shake of my head.

Cole scoffed again, and tossed it at me. "You leave him to me, this is perfect. We're getting it." She said with a grin. "Dean is gonna _freak _when he sees you in this!"

I paused again, looking over at her. "Are you trying to get us killed?" I asked her, biting my lip. Cole looked at me sympathetically.

"Come on," she said. "Don't you think it's time you both got past the John rule?" She asked and I thought about it. I was looking at one reason why I wanted to just throw _the John rule _out the window, but I still wasn't sure. He was my dad. I had been with them for a long time now, six years, and the rules were the rules.

"At least buy it, we can decide later whether you're going to risk beheading or not over a simple bloody lace top!" She said, and I nodded. Sam walked up to us and whistled at the shirt Cole was still holding up.

"Daring!" He said with a smirk, he looked over at Cole. "You going to be wearing that?" He asked, sizing her up.

"Nope, Beth is," she said with a grin. Sam turned an amused eye to me.

"Really?" He asked with a grin. "Dad gonna let you out in that you reckon?" He asked. I shrugged.

"He is when I'm through with him," Cole said confidently and I shook my head.

Sam looked at the top again and then back at me, as if trying to decide what I'd look like in it, I'd never really worn things that … revealing... around them before, other than tank tops.

He shook his head and held up his clothes. "I shouldn't be saying this," he commented. "But you should get it. It'd look awesome. And I'm so going to hell just for saying that," he said with a grin.

I laughed and gave him a friendly hug, pulling him with us toward the check out. "Thanks Sammy, maybe it's time I gave Dad a reason to have heart palpitations, rather than the imagined crap he comes up with half the time." He laughed and nodded.

When everything was totalled up we were fifty-six dollars over budget. Cole looked pleased with herself. "Not bad," she said. "Bet he doesn't even notice!"

Dean was sitting in the Impala waiting for us when we came out. I took the passenger seat next to him and he glanced over at me, a slightly apologetic look on his face. "Get something for tomorrow?" He asked and I nodded.

"Oh yeah, you're gonna love it!" Cole said, leaning forward with a grin. "Sexy, sexy."

"And why would I love something sexy on my sister? You trying to send me to Hell?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. I smirked. Looked like Cole wasn't the only one playing it cool. Cole rolled her eyes at him and sat back without saying anything further.

* * *

_**Bobby's House  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

Usually Bobby cooked, and he was a great cook, but tonight pizza was on the menu at the Singer household. We were all seated around the new table, which had been delivered on schedule during the afternoon. I was munching on a piece of meat lovers and trying not to moan out loud at how good it tasted. My favourite part was the stuffed crust, and I always left it until last. I was just about to take a bite into that soft, cheesy goodness when Dean reached across and snaked it out of my hand, shoving half of it into his mouth in one smooth motion.

"Hey! Pizza thief! Get your own!" I said annoyed, grabbing the other half back from him and waving it at him.

"Mmmm, mmmm!" Dean said, chewing loudly. His cheeks were all puffed up like a hamster and I rolled my eyes at him. Some things would never change.

"So we were a little over-budget," Cole was explaining to John, who was watching her with an amused expression. "But only by fifty-six bucks," she said, looking at him.

"You expect me to believe this table cost a thousand and fifty-six bucks?" He asked, taking a bite of his own pizza.

"Well there was the cost of delivery," she smirked at him, and took a drink of coke.

"Delivery?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh-huh, and you know... a finders fee..." she said, grinning cheekily at him.

"Finders fee?" John said, this time sitting back in his chair and looking at me.

I shrugged, focusing on my stuffed crust, trying to disappear where I wouldn't have to be involved in this conversation.

John chuckled and seemed to dismiss the excuses. "Well it's a good thing I didn't tell you about the thirty thousand dollar limit on that card," he said with a grin. Cole looked floored.

"Damn!" She said, looking at me. "Could have got those shoes after all!" John laughed heartily at that and turned to Bobby.

"Looks like you get to cover the shoe shopping," he said and Bobby grunted, shaking his head.

"Nothing new there," he said with a bit of a chuckle, taking a sip of his whiskey and coke.

Everyone fell silent for a little while, just enjoying the food. Sam looked up after a while, and turned to Bobby.

"Uh, Bobby, there uh hasn't been any mail coming here for me has there?" He asked, and I frowned, curious as to what this mail thing was all about.

"Now that you mention it, you did get a big official looking packet." Bobby said, looking over at Sam. "From Stanford."

Sam looked stunned and the room fell silent for a moment. _So that's what this was all about. _I knew it was coming, he'd told me he'd applied and was considering college, I just didn't think he'd maybe actually go, not really. I'd been in a bit of denial about that.

"Why would you be getting a package from Stanford?" John asked quietly, looking at his son.

"Because I applied to their pre-law program," Sam said, looking back at him. Dean almost choked on the pizza he was chewing on, shocked. I simply lowered my head, I wasn't admitting to knowing anything about this.

"And what about hunting? Are you just going to walk away from us?" John asked angrily. "Your family needs you Sam," he said, his eyes looking dark and furious.

"Hey John, hunting doesn't necessarily have to be the only game in town," Bobby said, jumping to Sam's defense. "Look at Cole and how well she's handled hunting and going to school. It was probably one of the best things that's happened to her."

John's face darkened and he glanced over at Cole, who shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked up at him and whatever he saw there seemed to temper his mood.

"We'll talk about this later," John said with a sigh.

Suddenly Cole cleared her throat and grinned. "So, ahem, apparently Dean has decided he would like a career change too," she said cheekily. I stared at her, and Dean's mouth dropped open. "Although, his career change will require much less schooling," she said.

"Really?" John asked, glaring at her. He had suddenly dropped from a good mood to being a little tense, I could only assume it was the Stanford issue. I saw where Cole was going with the joke and hoped to get John back into a happier mood.

"Yeah, he's decided it's his lifelong aspiration to be a table dancing stripper," I said, smirking at Dean, who was looking pensively over at John.

John looked at us all quietly for a moment and then his face broke into a grin. "You used my credit card to pay for a stripper?" He asked, playing along, glancing over at Cole.

Cole looked incredulous. "Do I look stupid?!" She asked. "Strippers won't take anything cold hard cash. So Beth paid for Dean's little show, not much mind you, he's a cheap ho." She grinned at Dean who managed to look offended. "I used your credit card to pay for the tetanus shot," she finished, grinning away.

We all burst out laughing at the thought of Dean needing a tetanus shot from table top dancing.

"Of couse, Dean, you really need to watch out for those metal poles," Bobby said, chuckling away. I felt him bristling at all the teasing next to me and patted Dean on the shoulder. He really needed to learn to lighten up, especially since he was certainly good at giving out the teasing.

* * *

_**Coles' bedroom**_

It was after midnight, we'd been in bed for a few hours. I had gone through with what I'd said earlier in the day and moved my things up to Cole's room, where I usually shared her queen sized bed with her.

She had been tossing fitfully for the last ten minutes, waking me up when she landed a blow to the side of my head. I watched her, reaching out to brush my hand along her forehead, and she flinched in her sleep. "No," she whimpered and I sat up, looking at her in the light of the moon from the skylight above us.

"Cole?" I asked, touching her shoulder.

She cried out and rolled on to he back, swinging an arm out to the side.

"No, no, no, no, no, no..." she whimpered again and I decided this was no ordinary dream. I started to shake her, trying to get her to wake up.

"Cole!" I watched as tears fell down her face. "Cole, sweetie you gotta wake up! Cole?" She was shaking her head from side to side and I lifted her up a little, shaking her by the shoulders. "God dammit wake the heck up!" I said louder and her eyes snapped open, trying to focus on me as she came out of the dream.

"What happened?" She asked and I let go of her, helping her back down to her pillow.

"You were just having a bad dream, a nightmare," I said to her, leaning down beside her.

"It wasn't just a nightmare," she said, looking up at me. "I see it all the time. Like a constant shitty loop over and over in my head." I grimaced, realising she was talking about the rape. "And there's nothing I can do about any of it. And the only time I feel like I even have a little bit of comfort is when..." her voice trailed off and she looked over at me a little guiltily.

"When you're with Dad?" I asked gently, finishing the statement. It had to be what she'd been going to say. Cole looked at me, trying to look surprised, but she couldn't quite pull it off.

"I found out this morning," I said with a smile. She looked at me hesitantly. "I saw you guys in the gym," I pointed out, and Cole sat up a little to look at me.

"I have to say, I'm a bit hurt you didn't tell me sooner," I said to her, "At the same time, _I cannot believe _that he has been riding Dean and me so hard! Do you know how much we've struggled to keep to his rules? Oh my god! All this time I've been pushing him away … and … and …" I shook my head, not even wanting to think about it. It's all I'd been thinking about _all day _since I'd seen him, and I still hadn't come to any conclusions about what to do. I ran my hands across my face, groaning.

"I'm sorry Beth," Cole said to me quietly, chewing on her lower lip.

I sighed at her and I knew I couldn't stay mad at her. "You're my sister, and I love you. I want to see you happy, and I want to see him happy. Whether I like it or not, both of your demons are less exaggerated when you're together." It was the truth, John had seemed to be a lot more patient lately, a little less aggitated perhaps.

"So can I ask you something?" I questioned, looking at her. "Although I may not want to know the answer..."

"Shoot," Cole said to me.

"How long have you guys been together? Really?" I asked, because it was clear as day that this wasn't something that had just happened overnight.

Cole paused as if she was assessing how I was going to take her news. "We've been together since, May 18th," she said, and I did the math. She'd told me about the rape in June. So that meant they'd had something going on since before then even. I gaped at her.

"You guys were together not even a month after you got assaulted? Cole what the hell were you thinking?!" I asked her, shaking my head.

Cole ducked her head and avoided my look. "Beth, I needed him in that time. I couldn't call my father. My God could you imagine how much this would destroy him if he found out I was raped?!" She has started to cry, silent tears that ran down her cheeks. I wanted to hug her, but I also wanted to let her finish, so I did nothing.

"That his precious, strong daughter was overpowered by a couple of humans? I felt like no one would ever want me, like I'm damaged goods, and John shows me every time he sees me how far off the path I've gotten, how wrong I am. He makes me feel safe, cared for, protected." Cole said, brushing the tears away with a swipe of her hand.

I nodded, taking all this in, and then I decided to lighten the mood a little.

"Can I ask you another question?" I asked, smiling.

"Shoot," Cole replied, looking at me.

"What were you guys really doing on the kitchen table?" I said with a grin.

Cole laughed. "We, uh, weren't exactly fighting. If that helps any. Well okay, mostly we weren't fighting." She hesitated, and I decided that I was going to push the answer a little. Lord knows she'd had to listen to the crap about me and Dean often enough, the least I could do was be there to listen to her talk about John.

"Oh, no ma'am. You are not getting out of this one that easily. I tell you everything Dean and I do. Spill the damn details." I said, sitting back and pulling my knees up to my chin, wrapping my arms around them.

Cole paused and then nodded. "So I kinda had a rough night last night. And it all started with a kiss," she stopped, looking at me as if checking that I really wanted to hear all this. I had to admit, I was kind of curious – this was a side to John I'd never seen.

"Then we got into a fight, this is where we broke the wall… don't ask!" She said and I giggled, trying to picture it. "I flipped him onto the table he pulled a knife on me, so I pulled his own gun on him," I almost laughed out loud at that image. John Winchester, defeated by a little girl who wasn't only half his age, she was half his size too – he towered over her short stature.

"We ended up making out on the table before it collapsed under us – you know the results of that." She said with a grimace. "And then we had another fight out in the gym, and finally another kiss, which I'm guessing is the one that you saw." I nodded and sat back.

"You guys were fighting?" I asked, it had seemed like it, but also seemed strange.

"No. Not really we were…..uhm taking our frustrations out on each other." She explained and I chuckled.

"Well that explains all the things I've noticed when you two are around each other, you both are tense, moody, and you gravitate towards each other. It's all sexual tension." I said to her,_ and it had only taken me seeing them kiss to piece it all together. How dumb was that? _I laughed, shaking my head. "Trust me, Dean and I have that going too," I said quietly. Suddenly everything seemed really clear to me in the light of a new day – not that the sun was out yet.

Cole rolled on to her back, staring at the ceiling, and I lay down, rolling on to my side and looking at her. "I'm gonna try and get some sleep now, unless you need me to talk some more." I said to her. It would be dawn soon, and I knew Dean would come looking for me, he always did on my birthday, it was a tradition with us now.

"Nah hon, I'm good, you get some sleep, I'm gonna get dressed and try to put in a work out," Cole said to me and I nodded. It wasn't uncommon for me to wake up in the middle of the night and find her gone, she had odd sleeping habits that seemed to have just gotten worse since the attack.

She got up and flipped the light switch by the doorway, flooding the room with brightness. I groaned and pulled my pillow over my eyes while she went about getting some work-out clothes on. As she left she turned the light off and shut the door. I pulled the pillow off my face and stared out the skylight at the moon overhead.

Thinking about Dean I suddenly realised I didn't want to wait until dawn to see him, and I really doubted my ability to fall back asleep now my mind had started down this road. I debated the different options I had, and wondered if perhaps I'd left things too late? Dean had been really sullen with me all night, barely even acknowledging me as I'd said good night and headed up to bed. _What if he was sick and tired of the constant yo-yo'ing on my feelings for him?_

I groaned, rolling over on to my stomach and burying my face in the pillow. I lay like this for a little while, still fighting internally with my self-doubt and my heart. My heart won out, and I decided to chance the possible rejection. Better to know now than lay awake all night wondering.

* * *

I was wearing one of his t-shirts as a nightie, it hit me at the tops of my thighs, a pair of knickers was all I had on underneath, and it was all I planned on wearing downstairs too. I sneaked down the stairs, listening for any movement. Cole was long gone though, and everyone else seemed to be asleep.

The door to the spare room no longer creaked, thanks to Bobby oiling the hinges since last time we'd stayed there, so I was able to slip into the room without anyone being the wiser. I glanced over at Sam, who was in the single bed and snoring softly. Good, he was fast asleep. Unfortunately, so was Dean. I didn't know where John was, he should have been in with Dean, but from what I could tell, only Dean had been sleeping in the bed this night. I chuckled a little bit, wondering if Cole was off having a midnight rendezvous with John, then I pushed it out of my mind, because it still made me slightly uncomfortable thinking about that.

I hesitated at the side of the bed, looking over at Dean. He was sleeping on his side, his face turned toward the wall and away from me. I reached out and tentatively shook his shoulder. He murmured in his sleep but he didn't quite wake up.

"Dean!" I whispered to him, shaking him again. This time he opened his eyes, turning to look over his shoulder, looking at little startled. He frowned when he saw me and I took a step back, biting my lip. He pushed a little button on his watch and a light came on so he could see the time.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked softly, looking at me after he realised what time it was. I couldn't find my voice all of a sudden, I didn't know what to say, so I shook my head at him. His eyes softened and he pulled back the covers, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me into the bed with him. I moved quickly and quietly, allowing him to guide me in to his warm body. I shivered, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning in to his chest with a sigh.

"What's wrong?" He asked, brushing the hair out of my eyes and looking at me in the light of the moon coming in from the window.

"Everything's wrong," I said, finally finding my words. He frowned at me and I buried my face into his neck, breathing in that faint smell of leather and pine that was always present with him. Dean started to stroke my hair, holding me close as I felt myself being lulled into a warm safe place. I just wanted to fall asleep in his arms and never wake up if it meant it had to stop.

I felt his lips graze my forehead, and then a gentle hand lifted my chin up so that I was looking into those hazel eyes that were dark and stormy.

"Do you trust me?" He asked, and I nodded at him. _Of course I trusted him, he was my best friend, my brother, my protector. _"It'll be ok," he promised me, and he leaned down, kissing me softly. I moaned as he nibbled on my lower lip for a bit, smoothing the little nips out with a slow lick along my lips before sliding his tongue in to meet mine. I circled his tongue with my own, a slow fire starting to burn from my stomach and spreading out.

I sighed contentedly as he kissed me, melting under his hands as he ran one along my arm and slid it around my waist, pulling me close. Dean pulled back with a reluctant groan, looking at me again. "We'll take it slow," he whispered, leaning his forehead to mine and I sighed, fighting back the fear that was sitting heavily in my heart.

"I'm scared," I whispered to him, trying not to wake up Sam by having too much of a conversation.

"Of me?" Dean asked, a confused look on his face as he moved back to look at me. I nearly laughed out loud.

"Not of you silly," I whispered with a little giggle. I turned serious eyes up to him. "Of Dad, of what it will mean, of what it will do to our family." The unspoken reality was that not all relationships made it, there was a risk in getting involved. _What if we didn't make it? What if we ended up in a big mess of emotions, broken and shattered? Where would I go then? How could I stay?_

Dean seemed to sense some of my hesitation because he looked at me determinedly. "It'll be ok. We're adults, we can do this," he said to me. "You'll always be my sister Beth, if nothing else we will _always _have that, ok?" I nodded at him and smiled, my heart was starting to do little skips and my stomach felt like it had a thousand butterflies flapping around inside it. _Were we really talking about doing this?_

He started to kiss his way along my shoulder, making his way up to my ear where he placed a single soft kiss. "Get some sleep before we have to get up, dawn will be here before we know it," he said quietly, and I nodded, inching my way closer to him. I tucked my face into his neck and just breathed in his scent. He smelled like Christmas morning, it must have been something in his aftershave or deodorant that had pine in it – either way, it brought me into a happy space.

It felt completely normal to be tucked up together like this, hiding under the covers and stealing kisses and forbidden touches. I couldn't have loved him more in that moment, I'd needed that reassurance that we were doing the right thing, and he was right there with me. I shouldn't have been surprised, after all, it'd been more me doing the pushing away than him over the years.

I grimaced, thinking about it, and resolved to make it up to us both. I didn't know how we were going to break the news to John, probably not at all to begin with. But he'd fine out eventually, that much was for certain; if yesterday had told me nothing else, it had told me that you couldn't hide these feelings forever, even the great John Winchester had slipped up, and I'd found out his little secret.

I focused on the pulse at Dean's neck, it was steady and strong, and it lulled me into a sleepy daze. I was warm and protected in his arms and I felt so happy. With a sigh I let sleep claim me, and found myself looking forward to morning when we could explore this a little further.

**~ To Be Continued ~**

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

The song for this chapter is _Bring Me To Life _by Evanescence.

* * *

I can't thank EarthhAngel enough for bringing young Dean and Beth to life in her own stories and touching some of their backstory. This has been such fun to collaborate on and I am so flattered she is including Beth in her story! Cole has been a lot of fun for me to guest star in _All Hell Breaks Loose _as well, and she's sure to pop up in future stories as well! We already have a few crossovers planned :)

* * *

This is just Part 1 because _How To Save A Life _is quite a few chapters which I can't include in a full chapter. I'm already hitting 32 pages in Word! So I'll be breaking it into two parts, the next part will cover the second half of EA's story so far, as we get a little more insight into how Dean and Beth explore their budding new romance while still hiding it from everyone (except Cole!).

* * *

Once I'm done telling this little backstory (which I'm currently obsessed with) I'll be getting stuck into _Magnificent Seven _and Season 3, so that'll be happening in the next couple of days too.

* * *

So I've had a few people indicate it can be difficult going back to find the sexy Dean moments, so I was considering making a new story which is basically all the smut combined into one story. I'm not even sure this is technically allowed on Fanfic, but hey, everyone else is doing it :D hahaha Anyway, thoughts? Happy to do it, wouldn't remove it from the regular stories, it would just be like a bonus "hits of smut" sort of thing - saving us poor souls who want to relive the sexy moments from having to go searching for them!

* * *

Please leave a review and tell me what you think!


	27. Bring Me To Life Part 2 (Flash back)

**Author's Note: **This is a crossover to EarthhAngel's _How To Save A Life _story taken from Beth's POV. So there's some new stuff as we get to see what really happened when Cole wasn't around, and also Beth's POV of combined scenes together :) It is taken right around the time Dean & Beth decide that it's time to break the rules and get involved. (Part 2)

* * *

_Stuck in a world__  
__No longer turning__  
__Always a girl__  
__Waiting for something__  
__Too many days__  
__Walking around sleeping__  
__Open my eyes I'm tired of dreaming_

_I wanna run with reckless emotion__  
__Find out if love is a size of an ocean__  
__Even if I crash down burn out__  
__At least I'm gonna know what it's like__  
__To feel alive_

* * *

**BRING ME TO LIFE – PART 2**

_**(approximately 4.5 years ago)  
The start of Dean & Beth's romance**_

* * *

_**Bobby's House  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

I woke up to Dean's kisses working their way along my shoulder as he shifted behind me, turning my head as he reached my neck so that I could claim those soft lips again. I wondered vaguely if I was dreaming, but this felt real to me, and my stomach was doing somersaults I was so happy.

Dean crawled out over the top of me and started to pull on various articles of clothing that were sprawled around the room. The boys had certainly made themselves at home in the day we'd been here, it was a mess. He smiled at me after pulling on a t-shirt and then raised an eyebrow.

"Get dressed," he said. "Or we're going to miss it." I tore my gaze away from him long enough to look out the window and realised that it was getting extremely light outside. I was out of bed in an instant, sneaking a kiss as I passed Dean on the way out the door and up to Coles' room. I quickly pulled on some jeans under the t-shirt I was still wearing, tugged on some socks and shoes, then exited the room with one of Dean's hoodies in hand. I suddenly realised that I had been hoarding various articles of Dean's clothing for about six months now, and it suddenly seemed really funny to me as I pulled the hoodie over my head.

Dean was waiting for me on the landing as I made my way down from the attic. I grabbed his hand and we snuck downstairs with a grin. No one was around, and the house was silent. I wondered for a moment just where John and Beth were, but then dismissed it from my mind while Dean grabbed the chocolate pecan pie out of the fridge.

The day was starting to light up as I followed him down through the junk-yard toward the river, which wound it's way through willow trees at the bottom of Bobby's property. It was one of my favourite places to visit, especially when it was a hot summer day. It hadn't been all that hot last night, so I'd snuggled up for hours to Dean, loving the heat that came off him.

We sat by the side of the river and watched as the sky turned bright pink with the start of the rising sun. Beams of red and purple shot out over the clouds and I leaned my head against Dean's shoulder, smiling as I watched the ever changing colours before us. He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me close and I took it all in, committing this moment to memory. I wanted to remember this when I was eighty years old.

After a few moments Dean opened the container with the pie and cut off a bite sized amount with his spoon, holding it out for me to taste. I took it into my mouth, sliding the spoon out with a little moan as the chocolate hit my taste buds. Dean swallowed and then leaned in to kiss me, licking along my lips. I almost giggled it was so deliciously sexy.

"Happy birthday baby," he said to me with a husky voice and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Best birthday ever," I said, leaning my head against his shoulder again.

The water looked really inviting, despite the fact that I knew from experience it wouldn't be warm. I raised an eyebrow and assessed the riverbank.

It would be cold, but at least it would be refreshing.

"Uh oh," Dean said, looking at me. "It's never good when you get that look in your eye." I turned and grinned at him, starting to pull off the hoodie.

"Come on," I said with a grin. "Beats lining up for the shower."

I grabbed my phone out of my jeans pocket and flipped it open, typing out a text to Cole. _Going to need towels ...down stream. Come alone! _I chuckled and sent it, looking over at Dean.

"Suit yourself," I said, unzipping my jeans and slipping out of them. I left the t-shirt and underwear on, a little self-conscious, starting to test how slippery it was down to the water. There was a small pier at the edge once you got down the embankment, Bobby kept a little fishing boat tied up there. I reached the pier and looked nervously back at Dean. He actually hadn't seen me naked, and I wasn't sure I wanted this to be that moment, it was broad daylight!

He was watching me, sitting with his arms on his knees, an appraising look on his face.

"Turn around!" I called up to him and he looked at me in surprise.

"You serious?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yeah I'm serious! We're not that intimate yet, thank you very much!" I laughed.

"Sugarpie, if you get in that water, I can assure you things are about to get a whole lot more intimate, let me tell you," he said, standing and walking down the embankment toward me, pulling off his jacket and tossing it up on the grass.

I licked my lips and thought about that, almost chickening out.

I wasn't about to let him know that however. I smirked at him and slipped out of my undies and his eyes widened. "Thought you were a gentleman," I said with a grin. He rolled his eyes at me and then raised an eyebrow, turning to face in the other direction.

Without hesitating I slipped out of his t-shirt and then gritted my teeth before diving head first into the water. I broke the water with a gasp.

"Ahhh it's freezing!" I said and Dean looked down at me laughing.

He stood watching me for a while as I tread water. When he didn't move to join me I shook my head at him, breast stroking over to a section where the current of the river wasn't so strong and I wouldn't have to fight to stay in one spot. There was a bend in the river and it made for a little swimming hole, you had to enter from the pier first though.

There was a splash behind me and I smiled as Dean started to swim over to me, long, broad strokes bringing him swiftly to my side. He broke off his speed as he reached me, coming to tread water next to me.

He raised his eyebrow at me and smirked. "A shower is at least hot, this is doing nothing for my image," Dean complained, glancing down, and I almost giggled.

I suddenly felt really nervous, maybe this had been a little forward given our recent change in personal approach to each other. I was treading water, and he looked at my legs as they kicked, his eyes flicking down through the water, running the length of my body.

"You know, that milky skin of yours doesn't really leave much to the imagination in this water," he said with a grin. I blushed, and started to swim away. He grabbed my hand and pulled me in to him; I realised he was on solid ground, having found a boulder to stand on.

"Hey this was your idea," he said huskily, pulling me up to him and sliding his hands around my waist. I groaned and ran my arms up over his shoulders, holding on to him, letting my legs drift behind me with the current.

My teeth started chattering and I pulled in a little closer to his body heat. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea," I said, shivering. "It really is cold in here."

I felt electric ripples cascade through my body as Dean's warm hands stroked down my left thigh, pulling it around him.

"Get a little closer then," he said, his breath catching.

My eyes met his and I gulped, wondering just what was he intending here? Dean chuckled at my facial expression, which I figured was bordering on panic.

"Calm down already would you?" He said with a twinkle in his eye. "Nothing that exciting is happening in this freaking cold water!"

I laughed, a little relieved, and nodded, sliding in a little closer.

"You do feel good though..." he said with a moan, sliding his hands around my waist and bringing his lips down to kiss along my shoulder and neck. I took advantage of the closeness to explore his body a little, trailing my hand down the contours of his back, watching his muscles tense under my touch.

Dean seemed to have similar ideas, pulling me in close, lifting me slightly so I could wrap my legs around his waist as he held me. His fingers skimmed along my back and down over my buttocks as he nibbled his way down my neck, moaning softly.

He slid me up his body and I gasped in surprise when I found myself being laid back in the water.

"Relax," he said, and I softened my body, allowing the water to cushion me, my hair spread out like fine seaweed that tickled my shoulders as he kissed his way along my stomach. His lips latched on to a breast and I arched out of the water, moaning loudly.

"Oh...my...god," I groaned and he sucked just a little harder at the encouragement. I grasped my hands behind his neck, desperate for something to hold on to as I felt like I was about to sink under the water. I needn't have worried because he was holding me under my lower back, keeping me afloat as his teeth grazed along the throbbing nipple and I fought to catch my breath.

"Hey mermaids! I got your...oh!" There was a curse from up above us as Cole lost her footing and came sliding down the embankment, bracing her fall with one foot out in front, her other knee tucked underneath her.

We pulled apart quickly, Dean groaning with reluctance, and I felt myself blush beetroot red. Cole had reached the dock and was waving around the towels I'd requested in the air.

"Did you see that?! Totally awesome! I'm like Wonder woman!" She called out, then noticed us entangled together under the water. "Holy shit, my bad, sorry guys..." she muttered looking up in the air, a grin on her face.

"Damn you don't waste any time do you?" Cole winked at Dean, and before we could say anything she scooted back up the embankment, chuckling away. She paused at the top, looking back at us. "Don't be too long, John's already wondering where you pair are!"

At the mention of John's name we both shifted uncomfortably, and shared a look of trepidation. We hadn't really thought this far ahead: _Were we going to tell him? Were we going to keep it a secret? Just what was the plan here?_

"Come on," Dean said, starting to swim back to the side of the river. I gave him an appreciative look as he pulled himself up on the landing, but I couldn't bring my innocent eyes to look that closely, even when he stood to face me. He laughed at my attempt to look anywhere else.

"Oh you are precious," he said, picking up one of the towels and drying himself off while I shivered in the water, waiting for a chance to climb out myself.

"You getting out?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not while you're standing there!" I said with an embarrassed look. He stared at me.

"Sugarpie, I just had your nipple in my mouth, and your legs wrapped around my waist, and you want to play the shy card?" I nodded in response and he chuckled, shaking his head. He picked up the other towel and held it out for me like a curtain, turning his head to look away.

I grinned and climbed up the ladder attached to the dock, pulling the towel around me as I kissed his cheek. I shivered a little and he used his own towel to dry my hair as I slipped my underwear on. Dean had seen me in just my underwear before, how being completely naked was an issue was beyond me, but I guess I just wanted to savour something with him, leave a little mystery?

I pulled on his t-shirt again and smiled, dropping the towel while he continued to rub at my long tresses.

"Man, how do you deal with this every day?" He grumbled, patting at the wet locks with the towel.

"With patience," I replied, smiling. "And it's not that bad. Would you rather I cut it all off?"

"No way!" He said, kissing the back of my neck. "I love your hair."

I smiled and took the towel from him, giving my head a good going over, shaking loose any water, leaving it damp rather than sopping. I pulled a hair tie out of my jeans pocket and plaited it quickly, tying it at the end.

"There," I said with a smile. "All better." Dean nodded and his eyes turned serious as he looked at me.

"You ok?" He asked, and I bit my lip, thinking about what a loaded question that was.

"We don't have to say anything just yet," he said.

"I know," I said with a sigh, moving to wrap my arms around him tightly, resting my ear against his chest, listening to the steady beating heart beneath.

"It's going to be hard keeping my distance though," I said with a smile, looking up at him. He grinned and nodded.

"Yeah..." he said, kissing me again. "Well we've had a lot of practice at that," he commented and I grimaced. _We had indeed._

Dean brushed his hand along my face, watching me with his hazel eyes. "Come on, before he really does come down here and all hell breaks loose," he said, starting to pull me up the embankment with him.

We collected our pie containers as we left, walking slowly back toward the house. As we reached the end of the junk yard we pulled away, dropping our hands to our sides, and glancing one final time toward each other. I sighed and turned my gaze toward the house. Cole would be inside getting breakfast started, and my stomach was rumbling for something more than sugar.

* * *

_**Merlotte's Bar  
Sioux Falls**_

Cole had decided on a local bar that was one of Bobby's favourites for the twenty-first birthday celebration. There was a DJ there tonight, and we wanted to take full advantage of that fact.

I smoothed down my top as we got out of the Impala, a little self-conscious about the amount of skin it actually showed. It was like wearing a long-sleeved lacy bodice over a black sports bra. Nothing was quite exposed, but the see-through lace left very little to the imagination.

Cole had been true to her word and John hadn't said a single thing about what I was wearing when I came downstairs. Dean on the other hand had been floored, having never really seen me in something quite so revealing.

"You sure you don't want to borrow my jacket?" He asked again as we moved inside and I threw him an amused look.

"It's like eighty-five degrees Dean!" I laughed and he frowned at me.

"Come on, I think a drinking game is in order," I said with a wicked grin. Dean gave me an amused look.

"If you reckon you can keep up, sure!" He said and I laughed again.

"Your ass is mine, Winchester," I said to him, grinning at the double entendre, and I turned to where Sam was watching this little interlude from beside the car. "Sammy, grab the board!" He smirked and reached into the Impala, coming out with a checkers board.

"Oh game on!" Dean said with a whistle, and he tossed his jacket in the back of the Impala before sauntering indoors ahead of me.

A few hours later and Dean and I were in the middle of a drinking game I'd invented years ago. Bobby was sitting beside us, watching wide-eyed at the amount of alcohol we were putting away.

The room has started to spin a little as I was completely winning this game. It was checkers, only instead of using game pieces, we used shot-glasses filled with whiskey. Each time you jumped someone's glass, you had to drink it. Hence why I was completely starting to get head spins but I was also winning.

I imagined I was holding it all together, much like Marion Ravenwood in _Raiders of the Lost Arc _but I wasn't completely convinced of it, my hand was shaking a little bit more than hers ever did, and my nose had started to go numb.

I was tapping it now with my forefinger and Dean raised his eyebrow at me. "Had enough yet? Numb nose getting to you?" He knew that was a sign that I really probably should stop right now, unless I wanted to be hurting in the morning.

Sam eyed me off a little worriedly at the nose comment, and I looked at him, shaking my head. "I'm fine Sam. I can completely feel my nose!" I lied, nodding my head and then stopped that because it only made me want to throw up. I was so not going to lose this damn game. I looked down at the board again, gnawing at my lip and trying to decide my next move.

"Hey O'Malley!" Cole called out to me from the bar. She came swishing through a group of people bearing the nectar of the gods in her hands. _Strawberry Margarita! _I jumped one of Dean's shot-glasses on the board and downed the whiskey in one go, concentrating hard to turn it upside down and bring it down to stack on top of the others in the little wall of glasses I was building like brick work.

"Get this into you honey, I'm gonna sort out some dance music," she said and I nodded enthusiastically at her. Music sounded just great!

"Dean has to dance with me when I win," I said, raising my eyebrow at him in a challenge. Sam almost spat out his drink at the thought and snorted, taking another sip from his bottle.

Dean looked at me and chuckled. "Sugarpie, how many times do we have to play this for you to realise that _I do not lose _at this game?" Dean smirked.

"At least one more it seems," Sam said with a raised eyebrow. John chuckled from where he was leaning up against a table and I threw him a big smile. There was my Dad, actually smiling for a change, it did the heart good to see him happy. I could almost forgive him for being a complete and utter _jackass _and interfering with Dean and me.

"You idjits ought to be ashamed of yourself, introducing this idiotic game to you sister," Bobby said suddenly, shaking his head. Dean looked at Bobby in surprise.

"Bobby, who do you think made it up?" He asked, looking at me and chuckling. I started to giggle, licking my lips. My thoughts went back to Dean and my mind was off on a new track, I could barely keep up with it. _Oh my god look at those eyes, man I love those eyes, and those lips... mmmm... I want to kiss those lips so freaking bad! _

I took a sip of my margarita instead, trying to distract myself before I jumped across the table at him. The icy cold strawberry goodness slid down my throat like a slushy and I groaned out loud. "Oh my god that is better than sex," I said. _Wait a minute, did I just say that out loud? _I looked up into the startled faces of the four men in my life. _Yep, I so did. _

Dean raised an eyebrow, reaching out to jump two of my shot-glasses on the board in one go. He leaned forward, those eyes watching me like an eagle might watch a rabbit. He downed one shot, and then the other.

"Know something about that do you?" He asked quietly, Cole almost spat her drink out. I reminded myself. _Be cool, you're like Marion... be Marion! _I raised my eyebrow to meet his quizzical look.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I asked, slightly slurring my words, but getting them out. _Man! I was so Marion! _I took another sip of my drink and this time kept my thoughts to myself about how strawberry margaritas were like an orgasm in my mouth.

I focused on the board, taking another sip of my margarita, I wasn't too sure that this was all that fair, drinking while playing a drinking game. The least Dean could be doing was drinking at the same time too. We were down to just a few glasses left on the board, and I was playing _run away chicken _as his queened (indicated with a bigger glass) checker chased me around the board.

My eyes went to the pulse at his throat and I took another gulp of my drink to try and distract myself. Maybe getting drunk hadn't been such a good idea after all. I sure was enjoying myself though. I was going to enjoy myself a lot more if I could get my hands on Dean though.

_I had to get him up on the dance floor, even if just for one dance. Wait didn't Cole say something about getting some music sorted? Where did she go?_

Dean finally caught my last roaming shotglass, jumping it and downing the remaining shots with a flourish. "I win again!" He said with a grin and Sam groaned.

"We'll never hear the end of it!" He muttered, and Bobby just shook his head at us.

"Well Sammy, you can always try and take on the champ!" Dean said, stretching in his seat. His t-shirt rode up over his stomach and I caught a glimpse of his belly button and I nearly caved on the spot. I downed the rest of my margaritas, looking over at John. _That's right. John. I was still grumpy at him._

There was a shout from Cole up at the DJ's corner and she started to weave her way back through the dancers. I had a vague recollection I was meant to be doing something. _Wasn't I? _I thumped my nose again, I couldn't feel a thing. Dean shook his head at me and got up to go get another drink from the bar. Suddenly I realised what I was supposed to be doing.

"Dad!" I called out, standing to my feet in a hurry. I swayed a little and Sam's hand shot out to steady me.

"Thanks Sammy," I muttered, shaking my head, which actually made things worse. _Crap! _"I'm okay," I said to him and I took a few tentative steps toward where John was at the bar, not far from Dean. I forced myself to concentrate, _one foot in front of the other, _and I crossed as quickly as I could until I was able to hold on to the bar for support.

"Dad you have to come dance with me," I said, grasping at John's arm. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I don't dance," he said with a grin.

"Pleeeeeeeeease! Come on, Dean won't, and it's your duty as a dad to dance with me for my birthday!" I said, adding in the extra whine to try and coerce him. John looked at me, a patient smile on his face, but he refused to budge. I narrowed my eyes at him, and I saw Dean shaking his head behind John, further away.

"Bethie, you have plenty of guys here who would kill to dance with you tonight," John said to me with a grin.

"You mean, who you'd kill if they tried," Cole interrupted, walking up with her margarita in hand. _Yay! I had back-up! Finally! I bit my lip to keep from giving away their little secret, but I knew if anyone was going to bitch John into getting up for a dance, it would be Cole. He might even listen._

"Give the girl a dance John Winchester. God knows she doesn't get to have this kind of fun all the time." Cole said, raising her eyebrow at him.

John gave her an appraising look, running his eyes over her body, taking in the blue jeans and gold top which was clinging to all the right places. Cole just stared him right down until he finally nodded and grunted his assent, holding out his arm for me to take. I clapped happily, sticking my tongue out at Dean who was watching the whole scene unfold with an amused expression.

As I pulled John up on the dancefloor I noticed a gaggle of girls start to move in on Dean and I had to stop myself from doing something that would give away an even bigger secret than what John was hiding.

I glanced back at the bar again and saw Cole interject, scaring off the girls as she stepped right into Dean's space, face to face. For a moment the irrational part of me thought she was going to kiss him and I nearly yelled, but then the blonde grabbed Dean by the hand, pulling him along with her.

John seemed to know something about dancing, I was kind of surprised given it was a new song that had only been out for a little while. _Dilemma by _Nelly. It was kind of appropriate for how I was feeling about Dean... _No matter what I do, all I think about is you... _well it was appropriate until you got to the cheating bit.

The room started to spin a little, and I thought for a moment I might be sick. John steadied me with capable hands and I swayed to the music, grooving to the beat and surprisingly, John danced along with me. Cole and Dean had made it to the floor and he was circling her, sliding in behind, grasping her by the hips and swaying with her to the beat, grinding his himself against her. Cole looked a little amused, grinding her hips back and turned to whisper something in his ear. She pulled away with a grin as the next song came on, it was _Drops of Jupiter, _one of my new favourites.

"That's your quota princess," John said to me and I groaned, giving an exasperated sigh.

"What about me?" Cole asked, stepping up and looking at him. I snaked an arm around her waist because I really needed the support, it was getting so I couldn't really tell my left foot from my right. _At least I'd stopped drinking. _Cole slipped her arm back around me as well, then turned me toward Dean.

"What about you?" John asked with a smirk.

"My quota hasn't been met," Cole said with a grin. "Here, Dean, give your sister a dance would you?" She said and pushed me toward where Dean was waiting. He grabbed me, holding me firmly in his arms and I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Dean!" I said happily, and I kissed him on the cheek. He looked at me a little startled, and pulled back with a stern look. I watched as he glanced over at John and I nearly groaned out loud. _Freaking hypocrite! Always ruining my fun! _

Dean looked at me again, his eyes softening a little. "Come on Tinkerbell," he said with a grin.

"Just oooonnnnneee dance?!" I begged him, _I had to get a dance, who knows when we'd get another opportunity. I had no idea when I'd get to hold him, touch him, again. Life was so random from day to day, I never knew what might happen, my inner Irish drunken leprechaun wanted to at least feel my hands run down along his back, and brush along his skin, and..._I groaned, hoping it wasn't that loud, and just sounded like I was annoyed. Dean once more looked over at John, seeking his guidance on what to do about the drunken sister, and John nodded.

With a grin, Dean pulled me into the crowd. I pretended he was my brother. Like my real brother. I tried to bring up the revulsion of what it would be like to be having an intimate dance like this with … well with Sam. It kind of worked and I ended up half a foot apart from him in an awkward waltz.

"You know I saw those girls looking at you," I said, my words still a little slurred. I was losing the whole Marion game here, my green eyed dragon coming to the forefront.

"Oh yeah?" Dean asked, looking at me with cool, assessing eyes.

Dean was looking over at John, and I saw him shaking his head a few times. I didn't know what that was about.

"Yep," I said, raising my eyebrow and looking at him haughtily.

I tried to convince myself that was Sam's throat I was wanting to take a bite out of. _Damn. _Suddenly Dean's whole demeanour changed, and for the better.

"Tinkerbell, you think I'm gonna have eyes for anyone else in this damn bar when you're wearing nothing but lace?" He asked, sliding his hand along my back sending electric shockwaves along my skin. I gasped and looked into his eyes, they had changed to a swirling vortex of need and desire. I swallowed, feeling like I had just encountered my long lost soul mate after years of being apart.

"Dean..." I said, licking my dry lips.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking at me, waltzing with me further and further into the dance crowd.

"I think I'm gonna be sick!" I said suddenly, my stomach lurching, and I pulled out of his arms and ran toward the bathroom which was toward the back of the dancefloor.

I made it to the door but stopped, the sudden urge to throw up everything I'd eaten, and drunk during the day passed and I took a few deep breaths in through my nose, out through my mouth. I stood with my forehead pressed to the wall outside the bathroom door, just willing myself to hold it together. _Be like Marion! _I chanted over and over.

I felt an arm slip around me. _Dean, _I thought, and I leaned back into the embrace with a sigh.

"Well aren't you a pretty thing?" Came a voice, and it wasn't Dean's. I looked back shocked and pulled away. He pushed in on me quickly, going to kiss me and several things happened all at once. I reacted to the attempted kiss, probably a little more forcefully than I normally would, but the room was suddenly spinning and I knew I was in trouble if I didn't get him off me.

The guy was about Sam's size, broader across the shoulders which came from playing football I assumed as I took in the jersey he was wearing. His hands came up to brush my throat, grasping my shoulders. That was when I brought my hands up, pulling them down to break his hold, at the same time I kneed him in the groin and struck him in the face with the heels of my hands – 1, 2 and he was stumbling back away from me. I reeled away, into a defensive stance, fighting down the urge to vomit again. Dean had come around the corner and seen the whole thing go down, his eyes turned dark with anger and he moved with a quiet smoldering rage.

He grabbed the guy who was still struggling to stand straight and pinned him against the wall, his forearm going up to cut the air supply of my would-be suitor. "You really, _really _don't want to be here right now," Dean said, his anger rolling off him in waves.

"Yeah, yeah right... hey no problem man, it's all good." The guy was looking scared and he held his hands up in a surrendering pose. Dean shoved him toward the exit and watched as he left before turning back to me.

I was feeling the beginning of shock set in, and I crouched down against the wall I had my back to. Dean reached my side and looked at me with concern, brushing a hand across my forehead.

"Are you ok?" He asked, and I nodded, but my eyes must have shown him how rattled I actually felt. "It's ok," he said, and he slid his arm around me, "I got you." He slipped a forearm under my knees and lifted me into his arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck and let him carry me. There was couch tucked away behind a pinball machine only a few yards away, someone had just vacated it so Dean sat down and settled me into his lap.

I took a few deep breaths and closed my eyes, pushing the _might haves _out of my head. "Oh God, oh God..." I said, struggling to catch my breath. Dean caught my face between his hands and forced me to look into his clear hazel eyes.

"Beth, stay with me, breathe ok. You're ok." He said and I followed his breath. He took a few deep breaths with me and waited as I calmed down. Tears were rolling down my eyes as I fought away the shock of what could have just happened, and it had been all in an instant.

"Hey, hey – there's a reason you have your combat training, ok? You were never in any danger," Dean said and I nodded, but my alcohol addled brain didn't want to see the reasoning behind what he was saying.

"Kiss me," I said suddenly, looking at him. He frowned. "Just... just kiss me," I repeated and I claimed his lips with my own, urgently biting down on him before he responded with his tongue, parting my lips and bringing a hand up to caress along my cheek.

I groaned. _God, it's like hot chocolate, only better. _Everywhere his lips brushed tingled with the anticipation of something more. I felt as if everything were heightened, which it probably was given the amount of alcohol I'd consumed during the last few hours. I bumped my nose against Dean's giggling furiously. Kissing wasn't always like it seemed in the movies.

He smiled and tilted his head a little to the side, my head started to spin all over again as I leaned in to him. My hot desire for him flared up like a raging wildfire, spreading from my groin up and outward. I resumed my urgent kisses to his lips, turning slightly, wanting to just straddle him, to feel him pressed against me.

"God... I wish we had somewhere we could go," I mumbled into his kisses. "I can hardly bare it," I said, kissing him deeply and he murmured his agreement. I moaned into the kiss, sliding a hand up under his shirt to run across his stomach, wanting to feel that bare skin under my touch. I broke away from the kiss, trailing my lips along his jawline and down to his neck where I buried my face again in the crook of his neck.

I had started to suck softly on the skin when I felt Dean stiffen, _and not in that way_, looking up and pushing me away a little. I paused, confused, and then realised Cole was standing behind us. Dean relaxed a little when he saw it was her, but the mood was suddenly broken.

"John's looking for you," she said quickly, looking around. I felt Dean shift underneath me. "I told him you were in the bathroom. Come on," she said, grasping my hands and pulling me to my feet. I nodded, and fought the headspin as I rose quickly up.

"Okay..." I said, nodding. "Okay." I looked back at Dean and his face was impassive, he'd already slipped back into big brother mode.

Cole seemed anxious about something, but I didn't really take the time to think about it. We were suddenly moving through the people on the dancefloor. Someone stumbled between Cole and I and separated her from Dean and I. They laughed in a happy manner and the girl apologised for her clumsy partner. I smiled it off, I could completely relate right now.

Dean grabbed my hand as yet more people converged around us, he pulled me back beside him and I felt a quiet wave of tension pulse from him. I paused, _what was he suddenly so concerned about? _I didn't have to ask as I saw the guy from earlier push forward through the dancers with a couple of his buddies, also wearing football jerseys. I took a deep breath, stepping behind Dean a little.

"Get the fuck off me!" Cole suddenly shouted and I startled, looking through the sea of people for her. Dean was standing side on, watching the footballers before us who were approaching us even as Cole was shoving another guy in a football jersey. _When had this suddenly become homecoming?_

Dean's eyes were on Cole and her situation which had suddenly gotten a little more complicated. John had moved up beside her and was trading words with the leader of the pack surrounding them. He looked cool, calm and collected, just like Dean. I felt anything except that, my heart was racing a mile a minute, the nausea was back, and I was shaking.

"We don't want any trouble," Dean said, "just back away and no one has to get hurt." The jock laughed and shook his head.

"Only one going to be having any trouble is you man, then we're gonna have our own fun with your little bitch here." Dean bristled and pushed me behind him, but there was no way out the way we'd come. Dean tensed, ready for a fight, watching John who was staring at the leader. He didn't even look away before giving instructions.

"Dean, get your sister out of here," John said calmly, loud enough for us to hear. You could have cut the tension with a knife.

"What about you?" Dean asked hesitantly, taking note of the six football players that had John and Cole surrounded.

John's mouth twisted into a confident smirk. "Oh, I got this," he said, raising his eyebrow at the man in front of him.

I didn't even catch half of what happened, it was like everything spun into motion in one go. One second we were in a major stand-off, the music from the DJ pulsing all around us, and the next the players had all moved in on us, and I spotted someone familiar to me, someone I recognised in spite of my alcohol fueled haze.

Cole had shown me pictures of him and his buddies. I suddenly realised the guy standing off with John was Cole's ex-boyfriend Ian, and the guy in front of me was Payden. This guy was about to find out what it meant to be on the receiving end of a Winchester's fury, and it wasn't going to be Dean's. I acted without thinking, grabbing a nearby bottle off a table and smashing it over his head. "For my sister asshole!" I shouted and Dean turned to look at me incredulously.

"What the hell Beth?!" He muttered and I shrugged apologetically. He ducked as all hell seemed to break loose. The same time I'd smashed the bottle over Payden's head had more or less coincided with when Cole smashed her fist into Ian's face, breaking his nose. I frowned at Dean, _what? We so had this in the bag! Didn't we?_

Dean pulled me out of the way of a punch that number 13 threw in my direction and pushed me behind him, up against the wall. I hit it hard, my balance was still off and the sudden movement had me reeling.

I'd kind of started a full on bar fight I realised and I grimaced. John was so going to kill me. Dean was blocking a few punches from the players surrounding us, I lashed out with a kick to the shin on one of them, which had me propelled back against the wall with a crash.

"Hey Sammy!" Dean roared over the crowd which had just erupted into a cloud of fists and elbows. "Little help here!" Sam's head popped up over the crowd where he was protecting himself from a few random attackers. He saw that we were surrounded and he panicked. I knew what he was going to do before he even did it.

Suddenly Sam climbed up on a table and assessed the leap, he took a breath and launched himself through the air, tackling the two guys closest to us to the ground as Dean tried to push me into the corner behind him.

"What are you doing Dean?!" I cried out, pushing him back and kicking out at the shins of a player who was swinging at Sam. "Nobody puts Beth in a corner!" I said with a grin, and Dean and Sam turned to look at each other, horrified that I'd just quoted something out of _Dirty Dancing _during a bar fight.

Someone hit me across the cheekbone and I smashed into Dean, his arms coming around to grasp me while Sam picked my attacker up and tossed him across the room with a roar. Dean tossed me over his shoulder and I protested, beating at his back.

"Dean! What do you think you are doing?! Put me down!" I kicked and he hoisted me into a more comfortable position. Suddenly I felt sick again and I fought off vomiting. Sam was pushing our way through the crowd toward a fire exit, and I looked up in time to see John toss what looked like one of Cole's shoes through the air, knocking the guy to the ground. I snickered, _bastard had it coming._

Dean was moving as soon as we got past the majority of the crowd, Sam in front of us; he hit the door as blue lights started to flash on the other side of the bar and police officers started streaming into the bar. _Yep, definitely time to go!_

"Dean! Put me down now!" I yelled at him, but he ignored me, walking quickly for the Impala. Bobby, John and Cole came barrelling out of the bar behind us, running to catch up. Sam snickered as he opened the door so Dean could toss me in the back seat.

"Hey Dad!" Sam yelled out to John as he ran toward us. "Just like San Antonio all over again huh?!" He laughed and ran around to the passenger side of the car, as John reached his truck, wrenching open the door and tossing Cole inside.

"We gotta stop taking your sister drinking..." John muttered under his breath, but he tossed me a smile as I stared out the window at him like a lost puppy. Bobby was climbing into the back seat with me, rolling his eyes.

"Bunch of flaming galahs, the lot of you!" He muttered, and Dean laughed, starting up the Impala and peeling away from the bar, John not far behind.

* * *

_**Bobby's House **_

The alcohol, along with the blow to my head had finally caught up with me. I was half asleep when we reached Bobby's. Dean opened the door and I almost fell out into his arms. He sighed and caught me, lifting me effortlessly. I used the excuse of being drunk to snuggle in close to him, burying my face into his neck, I teased him a little with soft kisses that no one else would be able to see.

He groaned, and covered it up with a complaint about me being a dead weight. We got up the stairs with Sam, John and Cole trailing behind us.

My heart skipped a beat when I realised what bed I was headed for. Dean kicked open the door to the spare room and without any fanfare at all, dumped me down on the double mattress.

"I ain't carrying her up another flight of stairs, she can sleep it off here," he said in a complaining tone, but his eyes looked at me with a twinkle. I knew immediately what his game was and I bit my lip to stop from smiling.

"Best birthday ever..." I muttered while rolling into a pillow that smelled like Dean, and sighing contentedly. Dean snorted and pulled off my boots, then his hands were at my waist tugging down my jeans. This wasn't anything unusual in this family, the familiarity with each other's bodies would probably distress some more refined individuals, but for us, where bumps, bruises, cuts and worse were an every day thing, being stripped to your underwear wasn't exactly unheard of.

"You want to bunk in with her?" Dean said in Sam's direction, there was humour in his voice like he was teasing his brother.

"Hell no Dean! You got her drunk, you deal with the aftermath... I'm taking the single!" Sam said, and I looked up long enough to see he was already sitting on the single bed, pulling his shoes off. Dean rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh which I knew was put on for John who was standing around watching this all unfold. I suddenly caught a serious case of the giggles at the hilarity of the situation.

_And maybe I was a little bit drunk still. _Sam groaned and thumped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "God! It's gonna be like bunking in with a hyena. San Antonio all over again!" Sam said, and the memories of that night hit me and I was giggling all over again.

Sam rolled into bed with a grunt and pulled the pillow over his head.

John shook his head at me and ruffled my hair before leaving the room. "Hope you had a good birthday Bethie," he said and I smiled up at him, nodding my head through slightly blurred eyes.

"Mhmmm, I did," I murmured. Cole was standing in the doorway with a smirk on her face, she was about the only one who hadn't seen right through the big drunken act, I could tell by the way she was looking at me, and then the wink confirmed it.

She turned and headed back down to the kitchen with John not far behind her. I started giggling all over again and Sam thumped the wall. "Okay, that's it! Where is my iPod?!" He said, and he got up to rummage through his bag, pulling out his most prized possession aside from his laptop.

He put the earplugs in and then turned up his music, jumping back into bed with a grunt. Dean looked at him, a pleased expression on his face. "Well that's convenient," he said softly, looking down at me with a grin. He flipped off the light and then I felt him crawl into bed with me. I rolled over to find that he'd lost his t-shirt somewhere between the light going off and him getting into bed, I ran my hands down his chest and, testing the waters a little lower. I was feeling a lot bolder with a few margaritas into me.

My fingers grazed along the top of his boxers and I heard the sharp intake of breath that told me just how turned on he was right now. Determined hands found the ends of my lace bodice, and tugged it up over my head, there was a soft sound of it falling to the floor and I was left in the sports bra and undies I had been wearing underneath.

"Dean..." I said urgently, and he silenced my words with a kiss, moving to lie next to me on the pillow.

"Shhh," he said, "that's as far as we're going." I pulled back to look at him in the moonlight, and I frowned.

"What?" I said a little sharply.

"Shut up!" Sam called out from his spot under his pillow. I giggled and turned back to Dean.

"See?" He said, with a grin. I nodded. I got it. Even with earphones, Sam's hearing was good until he fell asleep.

He reached out to gently caress along my cheek, his touch so soft and explorative. I sighed softly and leaned in to him as his nose nudged mine. The barest whisper of breath trailed along my face as soft lips found mine, teasing a low moan from me before Dean kissed his way down my neck to my ear.

His left hand found my right and his fingers intertwined with mine, grasping my hand and bringing it to his lips to plant a kiss on.

"You're drunk," he said quietly and I nodded emphatically. _I really was. _

"Sorry Tink, I don't do drunk, no matter how much you want it," he whispered and I could have groaned out loud, except I was now completely paranoid about Sam in the other bed.

I sighed disappointedly and he chuckled. "Always in a hurry" he said with a grin, and I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it.

"Tease," I said with a sigh. I could feel him laughing silently beside me.

"You can talk," he said huskily into my ear. I grinned at that. _Probably a fair call. _I had usually been the one to let the teasing get so far and then run away screaming as soon as reality hit home.

"Not anymore," I said to him quietly, feeling myself starting to crash from the alcoholic high. I yawned and he didn't miss how tired I suddenly felt.

"Good," he said, and he kissed me again, soft, loving, and with the promise of more to come. With a happy sigh I allowed him to roll me over to face the wall, while he pressed himself up against my back, wrapping his arm around my waist. I laced my fingers through his and held his hand while I settled in to let sleep find me.

"Happy birthday," he said quietly into my ear, placing one last kiss against my neck.

"Best one ever," I said with a smile, leaning back into his warmth, closing my eyes and taking a breath. Sleep found me almost immediately.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

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Song for this chapter is: _Alive by _Becki Ryan It's so completely Beth & Dean as they start their new romance explorations.

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I thought I could get this story into 2 parts, but it's going to be 3. So I will do _Magnificent Seven _next and get Season 3 underway, then come back to finish this.

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Don't forget the Facebook page – just do a search for Dean & Beth Supernatural Fanfic and it should come up. Or PM me and I'll email it to you. Anyone who wants to do some fanart or fanvids is more than welcome to do so :D I would LOVE to showcase it on the FB page! It's linked to Twitter now too, apparently, I'm not real kosher on the whole Twitter thing, so if FB isn't your thing, maybe Twitter is and you can follow that way :D

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Shout-out to Indiana Jones & Marion Ravenwood. Love those two! Some of my favourite movies :D

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Please leave a review or drop me a PM!


	28. Bring Me To Life Part 3 (Flash back)

_All I know this morning when I woke  
Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before.  
And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago  
Is green eyes and freckles in your smile  
In the back of my mind making me feel right_

_I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
_I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
_I just wanna know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
_I just wanna know you, know you, know you_

_'Cause all I know is we said, "Hello."_  
_And your eyes look like coming home_  
_All I know is a simple name_  
_Everything has changed_  
_All I know is you held the door_  
_You'll be mine and I'll be yours_  
_All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

* * *

**BRING ME TO LIFE – PART 3**

**(approximately 4.5 years ago)  
The start of Dean & Beth's romance**

* * *

_**Bobby's House  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

Morning came with a large crash from above us, I felt Dean jump to alertness at the noise.

"What was that?" I groaned, grasping my head in my hands. It felt like someone was taking a jack-hammer to it.

Dean didn't answer; instead he reached down beside the bed and grabbed a shoe, launching it at the ceiling where it hit hard.

"Dammit Cole, how about you shut the Hell up! Some of us are hung-over!" Dean yelled toward the general vicinity of Cole's room.

I chuckled and then grimaced at the pain it did to my head.

"How about you shut the Hell up Dean? Jesus Christ! What do I have to do to get a decent night's sleep around here?" Sam complained, rolling over. I became acutely aware suddenly at how lacking in clothes Dean and I were. It wasn't unusual for him to sleep bare chested, but you didn't usually see me sleeping in a bra and panties. I pulled the covers up over me to hide this fact.

"Shut up you whiner, there's a couch downstairs if you don't like it!" Dean said.

"Dad's kind of occupying it," Sam pointed out and I raised my eyebrow. _I wouldn't count on that. _

"Whatever," Dean said, not having a decent comeback for Sam. He rolled over and groaned.

"Sore head?" I asked him with a smirk.

"You have no idea," he muttered, sliding in behind me again, pulling the covers up so that it hid what he was doing to me underneath them. I tried to keep my breathing level as he started to tease his way along my side, his fingers brushing along the underside of my breast and running wide, tantalising circles along my ribcage.

"Uhhh," I moaned a little. "I think I have a bit of one," I said, trying to cover up the reason for the moan.

Sam got out of bed and from where he was standing it would have looked like we were just lying in bed nursing sore heads, in reality Dean's hand had pushed my sports bra up and was kneading my breast, tugging on my nipple and I had to fight not to groan. Sam took his time, grabbing a few items of clothing, his iPod and tennis shoes.

"I'm going for a run," he said, "and I want the shower first when I get back!" He looked at us, shaking his head. "Not like you two will be out of bed anyway, pair of lushes," he chuckled and left the room. Dean let out a breath he'd been holding and pulled me in to him.

"Christ I thought he'd never leave," he muttered and without any fanfare, his lips latched over the nipple he'd been playing with, sucking it into his mouth and biting softly down.

I groaned loudly, and then pulled the pillow over my head. "Damn Dean..." I said, and he chuckled.

We didn't get up to too much because we really did have pounding heads. Pounding bodies just didn't seem like something I wanted to add to the mix. Lazy kisses, long lingering strokes, and entangled limbs; this was my new recipe for Heaven. Dean seemed just as happy to lie in bed, enjoying our new found arrangement.

"Oh my head..." I groaned again, starting to regret the drinking game from the night before.

Dean chuckled and rolled over to kiss my forehead. "Better?" He asked.

"Maybe..." I said with a smile.

"Just maybe?" He asked, raising his eyebrow. He kissed it a few more times and then looked at me quizzically. "Now?"

"Getting better," I said, smiling as he kissed my lips. I held his face between my two hands and I gently ran my finger along the fine pink skin under his eye where the stitches had been, grimacing.

"What about you?" I asked, looking him in the eyes.

"Well, you haven't kissed it better yet," he said, smirking. I raised an eyebrow and grinned, leaning over to brush my lips softly across the pink scar.

"Better?" I asked, mimicking his question from earlier.

"Mhmmm," he said, looking intently at me.

I giggled at the whole thing. This was not a side to Dean I was used to seeing. He tilted his head at me and looked curious.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing," I said with a smile, kissing him again. "Just happy."

"No more sore head?" He asked.

"I wouldn't go _that far," _I said with a groan. I lay back against my pillow and Dean looked me over, starting to kiss all the little cuts and bruises I'd gotten while we were hunting those werewolves.

I was sucking softly on the skin in the crook of his neck when we were rudely greeted with Cole's out-of-tune singing.

"_Oh, I'll tell you what I want, What I really really want, So tell me what you want, What you really really want_" she more or less yelled, flinging herself through the door without so much as a knock, her eyes flashing a warning as she dove into the bed, landing on top of us.

Dean was about as unimpressed as I was with the interruption, and when she hit the bed, he locked her arms behind her, rolling over and tossing her to the floor. She hit the ground with a thump and grunted.

"Hey jackass!" She growled, looking up at him.

"Dean..." John said warningly from the door way and I dove further under the covers to hide my current state of undress.

"What? The crazy cow dove right in the middle of the bed I was sleeping in," Dean complained, obviously feeling completely justified in having just thrown our early warning to the ground.

"Well it's a good thing you're up anyway," John said, crossing his arms and looking at Cole who was still sitting on the floor. "We have a chupacabra nest we have to go hunt down. I'm gonna go and fill Bobby in and see if he'll join us. Chris is laid up with a busted arm, so we'll need another man." John said, and the pounding in my head just got louder.

"What? Nooooooooooooooo!" I groaned, still hiding under the covers, but adding a pillow to the mix: straight over the top of my head. I think I might have whimpered at the prospect of getting out of bed this early in the morning and facing the day; my brain was threatening to burrow its way out of my head right now.

"Sore head baby girl?" John asked me, and I peeked out to see him raise his eyebrow at me. I grunted at him and Dean groaned, lying back against his own pillow.

"You'd think we could have just _one day off _from this damn job!" He said, covering his face with his hands.

"You did, it was yesterday, and the pair of you clearly made the most of it. Now get up, it's time to work!" John said with a smirk. _God he was a task master!_ John left to go find Bobby and Cole stood up holding my lace bodice, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Gah, my head is killing me!" I complained as Dean pulled himself out of bed. He dumped his duffel bag out on the bed, starting to rifle through the clothes that were now piled there. He took out his favourite t-shirt and tossed it at me; I grinned and pulled it over my head. He wore this like every third day, even washed it smelled one hundred percent Dean, and today I got to wear it all day long.

Dean smirked at me, turning to look at Cole who was pretending she hadn't just noticed him in only his boxers, while I was wearing even less under the covers.

"Have a good time last night?" She asked innocently, I almost laughed. I hadn't missed the satisfied look John had given her before leaving the room.

"Splendid, you?" I asked her with a grin.

"Oh you know, the usual," she said, winking at me behind Dean's back. I raised an eyebrow at her and slipped out of bed.

I slid back in to the jeans I'd been wearing last night, and pulled my hair up into a ponytail. Once I added my boots and leather jacket, I would be ready to go. Dean had dressed in a t-shirt and over shirt to his jeans and boots and was walking out the door, we followed him and my stomach started growling.

"Dude, what the Hell were you doing at five a.m.?" Dean asked Cole as he walked down the stairs toward the kitchen.

"I kinda fell outta bed," Cole said with a laugh, looking at me.

Dean was clearly tired, and it showed in the way he rubbed his face, the dark circles under his eyes. "Well keep it down next time. I think you kept me up for hours," he said, opening the fridge and rummaging around.

I was staring at his ass, thinking about last night. Most of it was a bit of a blur now, but I'm sure I'd had fun at the time. My stomach was doing a few somersaults and churning at the idea of food. Dean swung around with a plate of pie.

"Hey, that's my pie!" Cole said loudly, stepping up to the table as Dean turned to get a fork.

He spun around and pointed his new-found weapon in her direction. "Touch my pie and I'll stab you with the fork!" He threatened.

"Stab me with that fork and I'll dismember you with a butter knife!" Cole snapped and I felt myself go pale at the idea.

Dean glanced down at his crown jewels and swallowed hard, looking a little worried, he glanced at me and then scooted behind my back a little, hiding from Cole and her butter knife.

"Hey! I'm gonna need that one day!" I exclaimed, _there was going to be no Lorena Bobbett's occurring here today! _Dean grinned and stuck his tongue out at Cole.

"Gonna need what?" John asked coming into the kitchen. I couldn't answer him, I had nothing to say. I was mortified at the fact that he'd nearly just heard me saying I was going to be needing his son's appendage someday, I buried my face in my hands, shaking my head. Dean shifted uncomfortably behind me, staring at the tiled floor.

"Oh, pie!" John said, oblivious and scooping the plate out from under both Dean and Cole, grabbing the fork from Dean's hand at the same time.

Dean and Cole exchanged a look. "That was our pie!" Dean said.

John smirked and walked out of the kitchen taking the dish with him. Cole trailed after him, complaining about him snaking the last of her pie. Dean grinned and sidled up to me, slipping his arms around my waist and kissing the back of my neck.

"Dean!" I chided him and he chuckled.

"Can't help it," he said with another grin. He spun me around and pulled me into the walk in pantry, taking my face in his hands and claiming my lips with his own, he kissed me tenderly, exploring my mouth with his tongue, and I moaned softly. I gave in and ran my hands up under his t-shirt, brushing along his abs and around to his back where I could enjoy the smooth touch of his skin.

Dean's hands started to mirror my own, urgently running along my back and sliding under my t-shirt, pulling me closer in to him as he deepened the kiss. Suddenly my head didn't feel so sickly, and my stomach was doing butterfly flips.

"Ahem!" Bobby's voice sounded as he pulled open the door to the pantry. "What the hell is going on here!" He said in a chastising tone, but I noticed he kept his voice quiet.

"Bobby!" I exclaimed, pulling away from Dean hastily, running a hand over my hair.

"Bobby we can explain," Dean said, looking a little concerned.

"Don't bother," Bobby said, shaking his head. "I think I just saw all I need to know."

He was looking at us, a strange look on his face – I couldn't quite place it. He seemed surprised, but at the same time, pleased?

"Are you going to tell Dad?" I asked, glancing out behind him, looking for John. Bobby chuckled.

"Well, I don't rightly know yet. This is John's problem, not mine. At least it's not Cole involved with the Winchester this time!" He said, and I had a moment to think about the secret Cole was keeping from her father, I glanced down at my feet guiltily.

"I'll leave it to you both to inform him. But if you don't tell him soon, I will." He looked sternly at us. "Beth, you of all people should know what you're getting into." I nodded quietly while his gaze turned to Dean. "You do anything to hurt our baby girl, I will personally deal with you myself, got it?" Dean nodded quickly, his eyes a little wide.

"All right then. Now get the hell out of my damn pantry you idjits! I keep my food in there!" We laughed and scooted around him, practically running for the door. Time to find somewhere else to make out until we had to leave.

* * *

_**Blue Mounds State Park  
**__**Luverne, South Dakota**__**  
**_

Last Spring Break we'd been in the same area of the Blue Mounds State Park hunting chupacabra. They were vicious blood-sucking animals that had found their way North from Central America. If you were to look at one, they were unlike anything you would have seen before. Moving swiftly on four legs, their bodies were covered in green leathery scales, a set of sharp pointed quills running the length of their spine. They topped the look off with a pair of giant fangs which they used to gouge and then drink the blood from their prey.

Cole had been with us on the last hunt too, a friend of Dad's had called and needed some help. He was a hunter, who also worked as a ranger in the state park. They'd literally had to shut down sections of the park due to '_bear attacks' _and we'd been the ones he'd called in to take care of it.

I sighed, glancing out the window, then leaning forward to look over Sam's shoulder. _Who on earth could he be emailing? _It's not like we had any friends. He closed the laptop a little when he noticed me prying and I sat back with a smirk.

"Keeping secrets, Sammy?" I asked, and Dean looked over at him with a frown.

"No," he snapped, but I knew I'd hit the nail on the head.

"Who were you emailing then?" I asked, pushing for information.

"Nobody, mind your own business!" He said again and I shrugged. _Whatever._

"So Chris says the chupas are back?" I asked, looking at Cole. Apparently she'd been with John when the call came in. I grinned, _how convenient. _She nodded silently at me.

"But we killed them all," Sam said, turning to stare out the windshield at the forest stretching before us.

"Yeah well, we must have missed a couple," Dean muttered, he looked frustrated. The last time we'd been down here he'd been attacked by a chupacabra, it tried to take a huge chunk out of his shoulder, I hadn't been able to do anything about it. I'd been on range attack and the chupa had been way too close to Dean for me to safely take it out, so I'd watched helpless as Dean was gnawed upon until John had shot it in the head.

Once we reached Chris's everyone sprang into action. I was lagging a bit behind, my head had faded to a dull ache, but my I was still feeling really seedy. Dean handed me a couple of aspirin and a bottle of water and I took them gratefully, flashing him a smile.

John and Bobby had the entire tray of the truck loaded with rifles and ammo, and we went about doing the safety checks and loading the guns. Dean and I were loading our own rifles, silently contemplating the hunt ahead of us.

I looked up to see John talking quietly with Cole, discussing the rifle with her though I suspected maybe they weren't just talking shop. I saw him glance over at me and I shifted a little uncomfortably, I was starting to feel paranoid – like at any time he was going to find out about Dean and me, leading to a complete breakdown of the family unit.

"You gonna be ok?" Dean asked, concerned eyes watching me, he slid some more ammo into my jacket pocket, using the opportunity to brush his hand along my side.

"Yeah, I'll live," I said with a grimace. "How is it your head isn't killing you?"

"Oh it is, but I'm not about to let Dad know that," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not the precious daughter," he added with a wink.

"Hey! He's just as hard on me as he is you," I argued, but I knew it wasn't true.

"Cherry-pie you don't know what hard is when it comes to Dad," he commented with a look over at John and bumping into me with his shoulder.

"Nawwww, poor hard done by Dean," I teased, ruffling his hair. He stepped back and gave me a playful shove.

"Shove off you pain!" He said with a laugh, flashing me a smile.

"He'll take you with him so he can keep an eye on you," Dean said, sobering.

"I don't need babysitting!" I snapped, and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Well, I'll feel better about it, means I don't have to worry so much about you," he said quietly. I contemplated that; if his own head was killing him as much as mine was then it probably was best we didn't pair together for this hunt. I nodded quietly.

"Yeah okay," I said quietly.

As if reading our minds, John stepped up and cleared his throat, drawing all our attention.

"Right. Dean you're with Bobby. Beth you come with me," John said and Dean snickered, giving me an _I told you so _look. John looked over at Cole. "You pair up with Sam," he said and she nodded.

Chris walked up next to us with his arm in a sling, he looked unhappy about the fact that he was missing out on the hunt this time.

"They're about ten clicks over the ridge," he said to John. "They seem to be on the move, I found their den but they'd abandoned it days ago. Six of them from what I could tell, the bastards reproduce quicker than humans, that's for sure." John contemplated this statement, nodding.

"We'll finish the job, don't worry," he said, reaching into the back of the truck and pulling back the tarpaulin that was there. I grimaced at the carcass of a deer lying in the back, he and Bobby had shot one on the way here, it was fresh, blood oozing out the side; flies were already starting to collect around the bullet wounds.

"This time we bring them to us," John said with a cunning look in his eyes.

John and Bobby took the front of the truck, which meant the four of us kids had to get in the back with the deer. I fought back the urge to vomit as I crouched in the back, holding on to the truck's cab at the front. Cole was opposite me doing the same while Dean and Sam took the back, sitting in the rear corners on the other side of the deer.

The truck started up and we inched our way down a fire access road into the woods. After a time John came to a stop and Dean opened the gate of the truck bed up, jumping down to the ground. He started to pull the tarp out, moving the deer and Sam gave it a shove from the other side. The deer fell to the ground with a sickening squish and I felt my gag reflex kick in, fighting it back. I took a couple of deep breaths and jumped down from the truck bed, collecting my rifle.

"Couple of clicks in and we'll set up," John said to Dean, who nodded and started to tug at the tarp. Sam took the other corner and together they managed to move the deer into the woods.

I checked my rifle again and felt Bobby come up beside me.

"How's the head?" He asked with a smirk. I rolled my eyes and looked at him.

"How do you think?" I asked and chuckled a little. Bobby had never seen me quite so intoxicated before.

"Frankly I'm surprised the pair of you are even out of bed," he said with a chuckle. I looked at him, wondering if that was a double entendre. He had a bit of a twinkle to his eye.

"Well you know Dad, rules are rules – we party hard, we still have to work the next day." I said to him, grimacing at my head.

"Ehh, rules are made to be broken. John needs to lighten up a little, you're good kids, you deserve a little happiness." Bobby said. I wondered if he was going to have the same attitude if he ever found out about Cole and John.

"Thanks Bobby," I said quietly, looking over my rifle again. I wasn't so sure John would feel the same way when we broke the news to him.

When we reached Sam and Dean they were bickering about how best to proceed through the underbrush with the deer.

"Just bloody move that branch there Sammy," Dean said pointing and then looking frustrated when Sam got the wrong one. "No, not that one... _this one!" _He said, giving a different branch a kick.

"Pipe down the pair of you," John said, "these things aren't deaf." The boys fell silent, getting the job done. Bobby was observing a clearing ahead of us, and he and John discussed the next step.

"Move the deer into the middle, then we'll take flanking positions," Bobby said, nodding to the boys. They followed their orders and I moved up alongside John, ready to move on with him.

Chupacabras have a beautiful clicking noise they use to communicate, along with howls that sound like whales, if they weren't underwater. It was the only thing I liked about them, and it wasn't enough for me to put them on the preservation list.

One of the chupas moved into the clearing, smelling the blood that was being carried on the breeze. It sniffed the air and moved cautious forward. John held his hand up in the air for everyone to see, indicating we needed to wait to attack. I readied my rifle, sighting the creature.

More clicking sounded and the five other creatures moved into the clearing too. I held my breath, picking out a new target. When John's hand dropped beside me I didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, and watched as all but one of the chupas dropped to the ground. The survivor moved like lightning when it saw the rest of it's companions fall to the ground, whirling toward the trees closest it: the ones John and I were currently hiding in.

The creature crashed into the bushes we were hiding in, and fell on top of me. I yelped as I rolled, pushing it off me to land a few feet away. John pulled his handgun out and shot it three times, it fell to the ground a bloody mess. _Gross!_

John helped me to my feet, and I smiled at him. He took a mere second to assess that I was okay, before turning back to the clearing, his eyes looking shocked and frustrated to see Cole out in the open. I stared at her, confused. _What was she doing out in the open? _Then I realised, she'd panicked when she saw the chupa come at us.

Cole turned back to Sam and suddenly she shouted a warning to him. It was too late. I heard Sam yell as another chupa attacked him from behind. We'd been flanked by the very creatures we were hunting, and there was more than six. The chupa landed on Sam's back, tearing into his skin with it's claws, and Sam screamed in pain when the chupa bit him, starting to suck on his blood.

John was sprinting across the clearing and I was right on his heels. Cole paused to take a shot and then I saw her throw her rifle on the ground in anger before diving into the trees, tackling the chupa to the ground with nothing more than a knife to defend herself with. John cursed, crashing into the bush and firing his gun as soon as he was in range. The chupa that was pinning Cole to the ground fell dead, and Cole rolled it off her.

"Sammy!" I said breathlessly, reaching his side. I looked at his back, it was torn up and bloody. Pulling my jacket off, I gritted my teeth and took off Dean's favourite t-shirt, grimacing at what he was going to say when he saw me using it as a compress for Sam's wounds. I shoved it against Sam's back and held it firm.

"Get up!" John ordered Cole, pulling her to her feet. "What the Hell is wrong with you?! Do you have a death wish?!" He was really angry, his voice seething with frustration as he lectured her. "You never leave your partner, not for an instant. You don't let your emotions get in the way! You stick to the job!" I flinched at the sound of his words, glad it wasn't me on the receiving end of them, but feeling sorry that Cole was bearing the brunt of his anger.

Dean knelt down beside Sam and sighed. "Ehh, it's just a flesh wound Sammy," he muttered, but his eyes looked worried. He saw me crouched in nothing but a bra and pulled his overshirt off, draping it around my shoulders, taking over holding the compress against Sam's back while I slipped my arms into the warm shirt and did the buttons up with a grateful smile.

"Sammy?" John asked, finished with his tirade against Cole. "You're gonna be ok son," he said, and he looked up at Dean and me.

"Get him to the medical centre, the rest of us will stay here and check for more." He said. We nodded and helped Sam to his feet. He was groggy and faint, leaning heaving on us, trying not to cry out in pain at every move.

"Bobby can you help them get Sam to the car, and check that end of the canyon for any other stragglers? I'll take Cole and head up to the other end," John said. I took the lead, handgun ready while Bobby helped Dean with Sam.

* * *

I sat in the back with Sam while Dean drove us to the medical centre.

"You're gonna be okay Sammy," I reassured him, he was looking pale, but otherwise all right. I didn't think the chupa had done any lasting damage from what I was seeing.

"I can't believe you used my t-shirt as a bandage!" Dean muttered from the front seat, but he grinned at me. I grimaced, I'd really liked that t-shirt too.

"You'll survive it," I quipped at him, Sam snorted and chuckled to himself.

"I won't survive him bleeding all over the upholstery, so just make sure it's doing its job!" He said with a smirk, I rolled my eyes playfully at him and smiled. I sobered, thinking about everything that had just happened.

"Dad went pretty hard on Cole back there," I said to Dean, and he looked in the mirror at me.

"She had it coming, that was a rookie move," he said, frowning "She's supposed to know better, if it were any of us he'd have kicked us halfway into next week. If you ask me, she got off light.". I did agree, but he also didn't know the reason behind her actions. Even if he did I doubted he would change his tune, he was a lot like John when it came to doing the job. You did it to the best of your abilities and you didn't let your emotions get in the way. I wondered just how much that was true with him, especially now. There'd always been exceptions to that rule around Sammy for us, we were forever getting ourselves into trouble over that kid – trouble that could be avoided if we'd just follow the rules.

The rules. I sighed and looked out the window. _Like we could talk. Weren't we a fine example of good children?_ I thought sarcastically. _Running around and exploring a relationship when it had been expressly forbidden._ My head throbbed at the idea, but I was able to put it aside as Dean pulled the Impala in to the medical centre.

The doctor took one look at Sam and frowned.

"What got in to you son?" He asked, and we looked up.

"Uhh, mountain lion," Dean said, the lie coming effortlessly from his mouth. "If you can believe it, jumped him out of nowhere, took us completely by surprise."

"Hmph, don't usually see mountain lion attacks around here," the Doctor said thoughtfully. He started to collect a few items together as Sam relaxed on the table. "Going to need some stitching, and a bit of a clean up. Doesn't appear as you have lost too much blood, so I don't think you'll need any, you've been very lucky."

I was starting to feel sick, and it wasn't just the gashes along Sam's back and the bite in his shoulder. I took a few deep breaths and then excused myself, heading outside for some fresh air. I was pacing by the Impala when Dean came and found me.

"What's wrong?" He asked, watching me as I walked back and forth, wringing my hands. My breath was coming in short, sharp intakes and I had a moment to wonder if I was about to have a panic attack.

"Beth?" He asked again when I didn't answer.

I stopped, turning conflicted eyes to him. He recognised the look almost immediately.

"No, no, no, no, no. You stop that line of thought right now," he said, coming to me and pulling me into his arms. "There was nothing we could have done any differently to have prevented this from going down."

I sighed, giving in to the feeling of his chest against my cheek, wrapping my arms around his waist. "But if we'd not had such a hard night, if we'd had a little more sleep... one of us could have partnered with him, we wouldn't have missed that chupa..." I trailed off, guilt hitting me like a tonne of bricks.

Dean lifted my chin up to look me in the eyes, his soft hazel gaze watched me affectionately. "There's nothing I would have done any differently, all right?" He said pointedly. I nodded.

"But the rules Dean... people just seem to get hurt whenever we break them." I commented. It wasn't the first time one of us had nearly ended up dead because the rules didn't get followed. I'd split up from Dean during a spirit hunt three years ago when John had specifically told him not to let me out of his sight, and I'd nearly wound up dead because of it. It had been one of the major reasons why we'd both taken a step back when I'd kissed him shortly after: why it had taken so long to get to this point in our relationship.

"I don't care, Beth. I mean, maybe it had nothing to do with any of that. It was Cole who split up from Sam, not us, he was her responsibility! She knows the rules just as well as any of us." Dean pointed out. I closed my eyes and sighed. He was right. We weren't the only ones breaking the rules, John himself was.

"Don't pull away again," he said softly to me, and I looked up into guarded eyes. Reaching up I brushed a hand along his cheek, he closed his eyes and leaned in to my touch, savouring it.

"I'm not..." I said, pulling his head down slightly so I could kiss him. "I'm not." I reiterated, pressing my forehead against his and holding him to me. Dean let out a breath he'd been holding and I reminded myself that we were capable of being adults, of putting our feelings and emotions aside to do the job. I realised with a surprise that I'd actually done exactly that during the hunt; my focus had been solely on the chupacabra pack, I hadn't thought about Dean once during the whole attack. Somehow this realisation helped.

We waited for Sam to get patched up by the doctor and then got him into the back of the car again. He seemed anxious about something, but I let it go, so many other things running through my mind.

As we pulled up to Bobby's house, we weren't expecting the scene that was unfolding.

"What the hell is going on here?" Dean said as we looked out the windshield toward the house. Bobby was on the front porch waving a shotgun at John, Cole was on the steps between them looking frantic.

_Oh shit,_I thought, my heart leaping into my throat. There was only one thing that I could think of that would lead Bobby to this kind of a showdown. He'd found out about John and Cole.

Dean was already out of the car, moving quickly toward John.

"Hey, hey what's going on?!" He called out.

"Stay here Sam," I said and I got out and followed him.

"Bobby, let's talk about this…" John said to the older man calmly, his hands in the air as he tried to calm the situation down.

"Nothing to talk about Winchester!" Bobby snapped, and he cocked the gun. I gasped and Dean looked shocked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean said, moving forward, his own hands out in front of him.

"Bobby!" I called out, feeling my jaw drop. I didn't know exactly how we were going to get out of this situation. There was always going to be the showdown, and this exact situation was exactly what I was panicking about earlier when I was thinking of telling John about Dean and I. On the plus side, it didn't look like Bobby was going to be disclosing our secret to John any time soon.

"You kids need to get out of here, this doesn't involve you," Bobby said in our direction and I grabbed Dean's arm, squeezing it.

"Dean…" I said quietly.

"No," he said to me, shaking his head and shrugging off my hand.

"Bobby…" John said again, taking a step forward.

"Shut up! I've heard all I want to out of you!" Bobby snarled at him and I felt my breath catch.

"Dad…stop!" Cole said, and Bobby glanced over at her, hesitating.

"Get back in the house Nicole," he said and she shook her head at him. He realised what she was saying, the resolute look in her eyes. Narrow eyes assessed her and turned a cold gaze toward her. "You leave now, you don't bother coming back. You understand me?" He said. I gasped. _No way! _There were tears in his eyes; Dean looked shocked at the proclamation.

Cole looked at him stubbornly, anger coming up to her face. "I understand perfectly," she said, picking up the bag that was at her feet. She pretty much ran to her car, throwing herself and the back in the door, roaring the engine to life.

"Wait, Bobby, this is ridiculous!" I cried out, looking frantically between him and the car.

Bobby said nothing, just watched as she skidded down the driveway. He started waving the gun at John and finally the other man acted, he started to push Dean and I back toward the Impala and then was heading toward his truck.

"Get in the car kids, we're leaving!" John snapped. I stood shocked, wondering how everything had gotten to this point.

"I'm not going," Sam's voice said suddenly from the side of the Impala. I turned, shocked.

"Like hell you're not!" John said, coming back toward us. "Get in the car, now!"

"No, Dad! I'm not taking orders from you anymore! I'm sick of it, I'm sick of how everything just falls apart around us. I want to go to college, and do something with my life!" He said, moving gingerly with the wounds at his back.

"Sam, don't be stupid, you are doing something with your life, you're helping people, that's what we do!" Dean said, turning toward Sam, who shook his head.

"I'm going to college," he said resolutely.

"Oh Sam…" I said sadly, I knew it had been coming, I'd just been kind of hoping he'd have a change of heart.

"You will do what I tell you to do!" John snapped at him, pushing him toward the Impala. Sam flinched at the sudden movement, the pulling on his stitches.

"John…" Bobby said warningly, coming down from the porch a few steps. "Let the boy make his own decision."

"You stay out of this!" John snapped at him and then turned back to Sam.

"I've made up my mind Dad." Sam said, standing a little taller, lifting his chin up.

"This is ridiculous, this is just…" Dean was shaking his head, pacing next to me. I was speechless, I didn't know what to say.

"This family has done everything for you Sam, we need you, you can't just walk out," John said.

"You know what Dad? I'm sick and tired of hearing it! I didn't ask for this, ok? I didn't ask for Mom to die in that fire, or for you to pull me out and raise me as a hunter! I don't want to be a hunter Dad! I want a real life, I want to go to college, make friends, and just forget about all of this. _It's just not important Dad! _How many times have we all nearly died? How many times do Dean and Beth have to come close to death before you give up on this bullshit vendetta of yours?! " He yelled. He took a breath. "Mom would want more for us."

John stared stonily at him. "You don't know what your mother would want, you didn't know her."

"That's right Dad! I didn't know her. I never knew her, I wouldn't even know what she looked like if it weren't for photos. But I gotta believe that the last thing she'd want is for her own kids to end up dead like she did!" Sam's eyes were flashing and he walked over to John's truck, hoisting his duffel out of the back with a groan, flinching at the wounds in his back.

"Get in the house Sam, you can stay here until you go to Stanford," Bobby said, looking at John as if to dare him to challenge.

"You're hurt Sammy, you need someone to take care of those wounds," I said, starting to panic. _Would he really leave us?_

"I'll be ok Beth, Bobby can take care of it," he said, turning gentle eyes toward me.

"No, don't do this, don't leave like this," I said, shaking my head.

"I gotta do this," he said, looking over at his father, and then Dean. I felt Dean shift angrily behind me, shaking his head. He was fuming.

"You walk through that door Sam; you don't bother coming back," John said stonily, I felt my jaw drop.

Sam stiffened, looking back at John. "If that's how you feel about it," he said, his eyes glittering with tears.

"Damn straight it is," John said.

"No! No, this is stupid!" I said, coming between the pair of them. "Dean!" I said, looking over at him, beseeching him to intervene.

Dean shook his head, looking conflicted.

"Dad, don't do this," I said to John, and he looked at me, his eyes dark and angry.

"Make up your mind Sam," he said coldly, looking back at the youngest of us all who was standing there, watching us struggle.

"I'm going," he said quietly, and he moved toward the porch steps.

John moved to grab him but Bobby stepped forward with the shotgun again.

"Kid's made his choice John," he said, glaring at our father.

"Beth, get in the car," John said to me with a nod toward Bobby.

"What? No!" I said, shaking my head. "No, I'm not leaving Sam here."

"Yes you are, he's made his choice," John said and he shoved me back into Dean's arms. "Get her in the car, now!" Dean looked from John to Sam, holding me in his arms as I felt the tears start to pool in my eyes.

"Come on Sammy, don't do this," he said to his brother, beseeching him to see reason.

"Sorry Dean, I have to, I'm not a hunter," Sam said sadly. "I'm not like you."

"I said get in the car!" John said, coming to stand in front of Dean and I, his eyes meeting Dean's, the look he gave Dean was an order in itself.

Dean stood to attention, his arms tightening around me. He nodded almost unperceptively and then he grabbed me by the arms, hauling me toward the car.

"No!" I said, struggling.

"Beth, dammit get in the car, we can't win this one," he said quietly to me, the tone in his voice stilled me. "Come on."

"Last chance!" John called out to Sam, looking up at the young man on the porch.

Sam said nothing, simply lifted his defiant eyes to his father, his spine stiffening. I found myself shoved into the passenger seat of the Impala, Dean slamming the door closed.

I rolled down the window, looking out toward Sam. "You are a stubborn idjit John Winchester," Bobby said, shaking his head at us all. He lowered the shotgun he was holding and took a step back up the porch steps to stand next to Sam.

"You can talk old man," John muttered, and he turned on his heel, heading for his truck. He jumped in and the engine roared to life. Dean was watching Sam from the front of the Impala, but he moved when John's truck started to peel down the driveway, hurrying to start the Impala and follow.

"We can't leave him Dean, we can't!" I said, looking at him urgently.

"Yes, we can. He wants this." Dean said coldly, starting the car and pulling away from Bobby's house. I stared at him.

"He's a kid!" I said, gaping at him.

"He's 19!" Dean snapped. I shook my head.

"Not to me," I said, looking out the back window at Sam as we pulled away. To me he was just that little thirteen year old kid with a shaggy haircut who had been a brother to me from the moment the Winchesters walked into my life.

* * *

_**Motel Room  
**__**Sioux Falls**__**  
**_

John booked us into the first motel he came to on our way leaving Bobby's. He opened the door to the motel room; I cringed as he tossed his bag across the room. It hit the wall with a loud bang.

"The pair of you stay here!" He said angrily and he walked back out of the room, getting in his truck and roaring off.

"God Dean!" I said, collapsing on the bed.

Dean was pacing the floor of the room, a quiet tension rolling off him in waves.

"Maybe if we call Sam…" I started.

"No!" He said resolutely, looking up at me.

"But Dean…"

"I said no! Damn him. Who does he think he is?" Dean said, running a hand through his hair.

"What? It's Sammy. You really didn't see this coming? God, come on now. What did you think he was going to do? Just keep hunting with us forever?" The look he gave me said it all, he really hadn't thought about it, he had been so stuck in the rut that was our lives.

"Wow," I said quietly. "Well, Dean, that was a little naïve," I said, standing up and coming over to him.

"Was it?" He asked, stepping away from me. "You think it was a little too much to ask that he give his all to this family like the rest of us have? He just walked out on us Beth!"

I sighed, he was angry, I got it. But he wasn't usually so blind to reason. "I'm glad he's going," I said quietly. Dean looked up at me in surprise.

"What?!" He asked, staring at me.

"Well really Dean, he's smart, he has a chance to do something with his life," I said.

"And we don't? What, we're high school drop outs so we won't ever amount to anything?" He asked testily.

"I didn't say that," I replied, but he was off and running with this tangent.

"Because I didn't get a choice Beth! I had to look after Sam, I had to look after you!" He snapped, crossing to the mini-bar where he helped himself to a small travel bottle of whiskey.

"Well, sorry to be such a burden Dean!" I snapped back at him, shaking my head at him.

"Well why didn't you finish school? Huh? You're smart, hell you're smarter than Sam. Why aren't you off getting some damn degree?" He asked, eyes flashing angry.

I stared at him, an incredulous look on my face; almost smiling I was so flabbergasted.

"What?" Dean asked, seeing the smile. "What are you smiling at?"

"You don't get it, do you?" I asked, and he turned to look at me.

"Don't get what?" He asked.

"What was I going to go away to school for? I don't know how to do anything except hunt! More importantly, going away to school would mean I wouldn't be with you!" I waited for that to sink in.

"So I'm holding you back?" He said stubbornly.

"What?! Oh my god you can be a complete ass sometimes!" I said, hurt.

"And now I'm an ass! Perfect!" Dean said, throwing his hands up in the air. He swallowed the entire contents of the bottle in his hand, and tossed it in the bin, reaching for another bottle.

"Yeah, like that's going to help!" I snapped at him, sighing.

"Well I am an ass!" He bitched at me. "You know, Sam has always thought he was better than the rest of us. He thinks he's so damn special, like he has some monopoly on doing the right thing, being the perfect person. He doesn't see all the sacrifices we made for him, Dad, me, hell even you Beth!"

"He's a kid Dean! I would think you'd want him to get out of this life, it'll keep him safe!" I said, grabbing my forehead with my hand. My head was still pounding from last night, this yelling was just making it worse.

"You don't walk out on your family!" Dean yelled at me, and I flinched, not used to hearing him so angry.

John walked back into the motel room carrying a couple of bottles of whiskey and bourbon, he sat them down on the table, and poured himself a drink.

"You're right Dean," he muttered, looking over at us both. "You stick by your family, you don't walk out on them."

"Yes sir!" Dean said. I rolled my eyes. These pair were being ridiculous!

"He's just going to college!" I said, exasperated. "God, no wonder he didn't want to talk to you about it." As soon as I'd said, I regretted it. John and Dean spun around to look at me.

"You knew about this?" John asked, his eyes narrowing at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat.

"Not everything, I knew he had applied," I said honestly.

"And you didn't think to mention it?" Dean asked, his voice just as angry.

"Not until it was a sure thing, no!" I said, crossing my arms. "And I'm starting to see why Sam didn't either!"

"That's not the point Beth. You know something about this family, you don't go keeping it a secret." John said and I almost laughed. _Who was he kidding?_

"Oh really?!" I yelled back at him. "Like you can talk! Anything you want to tell us Dad?! Hmmm?" I stared at him, waiting for the confession that was never going to come.

"That's right, I forgot. You're like Vegas, something goes on with you and no one ever hears about it!" I said, throwing my hands in the air.

"Don't you talk to me like that young lady," John said and I shook my head at him.

"You know, what do you want from us Dad?" I asked, my voice dropping to almost a whisper. "You have Dean, you have me, we're not going anywhere. Why can't you just let Sammy be happy?" I headed for the door and John's voice stopped me in my tracks.

"I told you not to leave this motel room!" He snapped and I turned to stare at him. He was issuing a challenge, was I going to obey? Or was I going to walk out like Sam?

Dean looked at me sharply, suddenly he was a huge ball of tension, worrying about what I was going to say next, or what John was.

I took my hand off the door and stared at him, I knew beyond a doubt that if I walked out that door I was saying good bye, and I was never going to do that. I would never walk out on them, no matter how hard it got. They were my life, they were the only constant, my anchor. But I was also angry, and I had to let him know.

"Yes. Sir." I said in a stilted tone, coming to attention. Then I turned with a sigh and walked over to the bed closest to the window. There was a small space between the bed and the window, and I leaned back against the wall, sliding down until I hit the floor. My knees were tucked up to my chest and I wrapped my arms around my legs, laying my head against my knees. It was the only way I could shut them out without leaving. John said nothing further, neither did Dean.

A few hours later and night fell. I hadn't moved, I was starting to think I might not be able to, my limbs had locked up and I was sore. At least my head had stopped throbbing, that was one thing. It was about the only good thing however.

John left the motel room, going for a walk, or to use his phone, or whatever else he usually did when he left us alone. Dean was in the shower, so I decided now was as good a time as any to get up. I stretched my legs out in front of me, feeling the blood start to flow a little more easily. I wriggled my toes, and flexed my arms over my head, rolling my head in large circles to free up the knots in my neck.

When I figured my legs wouldn't give out under me I pulled myself up using the bed. I sat down, and rummaged through my duffel bag. I was still upset over the way John and Dean had reacted to Sam's declaration. I'd expected better of them.

Pulling out a pair of shorts and one of Dean's t-shirts I got changed, and slipped in between the covers on the bed, pulling them up over me. I thought about Sam, and how we'd just abandoned him at Bobby's and how hurt he must be and tears started to form in my eyes. They fell against the pillow as I tried to stifle my sobs.

I felt the mattress move behind me and I stilled my crying, biting down on my lip. Dean leaned in behind me, his hand brushing over my head, pulling my hair back. He had changed into a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt and was lying right behind me.

"Don't cry Beth," he said gently, and it only made me start up again.

"Why not?" I sobbed, turning away from him. "Sam's gone, Dad thinks I'm untrustworthy, you think I'm a burden... what's not to cry about?"

"I don't think that, come on, did I say that?" He said, rolling me over to face him.

"Well it sure sounded like it," I sniffed, looking up at him.

"Beth... I'm angry. Since when do you get upset about us being angry with each other?" He asked, looking at me with an amused expression. He was right, we fought all the time, but that had been different, that had been when we were getting other kinds of frustrations out. I shrugged.

"Since today?" I said softly, looking up at him, feeling every bit as vulnerable as I sounded. Dean's eyes softened as he looked at me and he sighed.

"I don't agree with you about Sam. I never will, his place is here with us," I sighed, looking away in frustration.

"Beth... I don't want to fight," he said. "I don't want to go to bed angry."

I looked up at him, chewing on my lip. I didn't either. I reached up a hand and tentatively brushed it along his cheek.

"I would never think you're a burden." He said.

"How are we ever going to tell Dad?" I sniffed, "look at how angry he is with Sam! He's not technically breaking a rule."

He paused and looked at me. "We'll figure it out, together." He said, looking at me.

"Are you sure you want to?" I said, chewing on my lower lip.

"Don't do that," he said quietly.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Push me away again," Dean said, the implications of what he was saying showing clearly in his eyes. I'd been doing it for years, and it had taken its toll. I suddenly realised that as much as it had hurt me to do it, pushing him away had been even harder on him.

"Dean..." I said, looking up at him.

"Yeah?" He said, hazel eyes watching me.

"I..." _love you _is what I would have said, had John not chosen that exact moment to walk back inside. Dean rolled back from me, looking up at his father who more or less ignored us as he made his way across the room to the other bed.

"We have a job, we'll leave in the morning," John said, pouring himself a coffee from the pot in the little kitchenette.

"What kind of job?" Dean asked, turning to sit up on the other side of the bed.

"Poltergeist, over in Pennsylvania," John answered, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Heh, should be interesting," Dean commented, looking over a me. I shrugged to indicate I was listening, but I was still angry at John and the way things had been handled. I didn't want to give him an inch on this one.

"Get some sleep, both of you, we leave at first light." I rolled over to face the wall again, turning my back to Dean who got up to use the bathroom. When he came back in he crawled under the covers with me, turning his back to me in a show of purely platonic relations.

John crawled into his own bed, his journal in his hand, making notes under the lamp. I tried to sleep but it wouldn't come. I felt Dean tossing and turning behind me, acutely aware of just how close he was to me, yet so completely out of bounds.

I realised I'd forgotten to do my prayers, I got out of bed and grabbed the candle from my bag, pulling my rosary out from around my neck. I looked over at John, questioning without saying a word, he was watching me quietly. When he saw my look, he nodded and I let myself out of the room.

I found a quiet spot under a tree and lit the candle. Settling into a meditative state, I took some deep breaths, thinking about all the people I'd lost in my life, and the people I loved. I didn't know where Cole was, I didn't know if Sam was ok, I didn't know if Bobby would ever talk to us again. But I knew my place, and it helped a little. I said my prayer rounds, then watched the stars for a while, just taking in the balmy evening.

The room was dark when I returned to it, and I felt my way over to the bed, slipping back in between the sheets. Dean rolled once more and slipped his arm around my waist, coming to settle behind me. I leaned back into his warmth and felt the weariness of the day claim me, pulling me into a deep sleep.

Tomorrow was a new day, and we'd take it as it came. I pushed all my worries about Sam out of my mind. I let go of my anger at John for the time being. I pulled myself into the moment, and right now I was in a warm bed, with Dean wrapped around me, and I was happy. Somehow it was enough.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTES**

* * *

Song for this chapter is: _Everything has changed _by Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran

Go and check out the video for the song, it is SO CUTE! I looked at it and was like "Awwww, that is Dean & Beth if their parents had stayed in Lawrence and they'd been raised together." Cute!

* * *

So that's the end of Season 2 now. Everything is going to be happening over at Season 3 story "Hell to Pay" so be sure to go check it out. Hope you've enjoyed this little look into the start of their relationship. The story of Kittanning will be told in a future episode, but next up is _The Kids Are Alright._

* * *

If you're the praying type – could really use some prayers of health for my son who has had a bit of a cold (hence the slow going on updates) and some for me because I can't afford to get sick! :D Also, the sale of the house I co-own with the ex-MIL and her son would be really great too so I can move on from that annoying situation :) We had people looking at it today who are looking for the exact set-up we have at the property, so fingers crossed!

* * *

Be sure to check out EarthhAngel's story _How To Save a Life _over at her FanFic page. This is Beth's version of the that story, but there is so much more to get out of it if you read Cole's version too!

* * *

Please read & review, you know I love it :)


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